


Blindsided

by Snarry5evr



Series: Blindsided [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bottom!Sev, M/M, Mentions of past Harry/OC, Top!Harry, powerful!Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:51:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarry5evr/pseuds/Snarry5evr
Summary: Ten years after the war Harry and Severus meet in the most unlikely of places. Again and again. It's almost like someone keeps setting them up...  I've been wanting to do a Five Plus one for a while now but haven't been able to really come up with an idea I liked, until now.   For my loyal readers, this is the one that struck in the middle of Taming. As promised.
Five times Harry and Severus "accidentally" end up on a date, and one time they don't.





	1. Five More Minutes

To say that Harry Potter had a normal life would be tantamount to saying Pompeii had caused some minor damage to a nearby village. There was a time Harry had wondered why he had even been born and if he would ever be more than someone's slave. That all changed on his eleventh birthday. Harry had seen an old muggle movie once about a girl who had been swept up by a tornado and whisked away to a magical world with little people and an evil witch. Except, unlike the girl, Harry did not wake to find it all a dream. His tornado had been a giant (Half giant, really) and the little people of his world did not have a "yellow brick" road, they kept their gold safely underground in vaults, ~~protected by dragons~~. And his wicked witch had been a truly evil wizard and Harry had needed a lot more than a bucket of water to end _that_ problem.

But that had been nearly ten years ago, and now Harry was a celebrated war hero, world traveler, and one hundred percent single male under the age of thirty. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Hermione had quoted that once and he had just given her _that_ look. He could have been married by now, _should_ have been married by now, but Ginny had taken one look at his sweaty forehead, nervously clenching hand, and chewed-on lip and told him to keep the ring in his pocket and think about what _he_ really wanted. He had placed the family ring back in the vault that night feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. A month later he'd taken a portkey to visit an old acquaintance of Bill's in Egypt. A year in Egypt, six months in Pakistan, two years traveling through Europe. He'd spent time in America as well, a quaint New England town in Maine, a ranch down in Texas, a short time in the bustle of New York. California had been an experience with its rolling hills and vineyards and chaotic celebrity towns. But always, always returning to England. To home. The Burrow, the Weasleys, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, even Grimmauld Place had started to feel like home after being gone for six months.

All that traveling had also given him time to discover who he was, what he wanted out of life (mostly, he was still in his twenties after all). Ginny, of course, had not been surprised when he'd shown up to visit at the Burrow one July day with a man on his arm. Harry was by no means a "slut" but he had been in many relationships, mostly casual but a rare few had gone beyond that, though not quite too serious. Harry had learned early on to be careful who he chose as his partners, Harry Potter was still a well-known persona even outside of England. To date, he'd had only three sexual partners. Ginny, of course, had been his first. A quick fumble in a dark room of her parent's house a few months after the war and a few more times during the year that followed before she had "set him free". But he had always felt something was off with the sexual aspect of their relationship, perhaps that had been why he had so easily accepted her lack of answer to his non-question. His first gay sexual experience had been more of a toe in the water with his European tour guide. The man had an- oral fixation, and Harry had been happy to let the man fixate on his body. During his time in the States, Harry had met and fallen hard for a man several years older than him. His time with Christopher had been intense and Harry still shivered at the thought of the things the man had done to him, that they had done to each other. Until the day he'd come home to find (Of all people) the pool boy in his boyfriend's bed. Harry had actually gone home early that day to see if Christopher would be willing to return to England with him for a bit, as he had been missing his friends. Harry had immediately packed up his things and taken a vacation to Italy, where he'd spent six months on the beach. That had been nearly two years ago and he'd finally returned to England just over a year ago to the welcoming arms of his friends. His loving, supportive, smothering friends. Which was why he was here tonight.

Harry looked around at the near crowded café and eyed several of the men. He sighed, wondering how he had got caught up in this.

"Name." He looked down at the woman who had her head bent over the table, scratching her quill against the parchment. He loved the wizarding world. She looked up and he beamed down at her as her eyes widened and she began to stammer. "M-Mr. P-Potter. Sir."

He pressed a finger to his lips in a "shh" movement and winked at her. "Please, just call me Harry."

Her face turned a deep pink and she nodded as she scribbled the name "Harry" on the parchment and it was transferred onto another smaller sheet. She picked up the smaller sheet and handed it to Harry. "Your nametag, Mr- Sir. Just go through that door and we will begin shortly." She pointed to an open door and Harry followed several other men through the doorway to a room where six tables were set up in a U shape and he did his best to stay in the far corner. It's not that Harry wasn't a social person, he loved hanging out with his friends and meeting new people. But when a room was filled with eligible wizards between the ages of twenty-five and fifty all with the singular goal to meet someone, it was a bit daunting. _How_ had he let Seamus talk him into this?

There was a sharp clap and they all turned to face the pretty brunette at the front of the room. The blonde from the table stood beside her with a clipboard in hand. The brunette spoke, her voice filling the room well enough she had no need for a _Sonorous_. "Gentlemen, welcome to the first bi-weekly Wizard's Meet of the year. We are excited you all chose to spend your time with us this evening and we hope at least some of you will walk away happy tonight. To start off, please choose a seat, it doesn't matter right now."

Harry sat down in the closest seat which happened to be one of the two tables at the back. He felt a prickle of fear when he realized his back was to most of the room. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax.

"Excellent," the brunette continued. "My name is Lou Ellen, I am your hostess for the evening. Now at the seat you have chosen you will see a table letter." Harry glanced at the wire stand with the glaring blue parchment with the large letter D printed on it. "In front of you is a parchment numbered one through twelve with your number at the top of the page. If you will just tap your wand to your number it will activate for you and fill in your name on your own number. As you progress along the date queue the names will automatically fill in. Now, rules." Harry tapped the page with his finger and watched his name fill in beside the number nine, belatedly he remembered to pull out his wand and tapped it again quickly for appearances sake. He looked back up at the lady, Lou Ellen, "You will have five minutes to get to know your partner. When time is up we will rotate. Please listen to the rotation instructions as they can be a bit complicated. The tables are labeled A through F. If you are currently sitting on the outside, against the wall you will move up a letter, except for person number 1. You stay there all night, honey," Harry looked up to see her talking to a short man that looked to be in his mid-thirties with already greying hair. "So B will move to C, C will go to the outside of D and so on. When you get to table F, at the bell you will move to the other side, the inside and work your way _down_ the alphabet. E to D, D to C, and so on. The person across from number one will switch to the outside chair of table B. You will go there, Hun." She indicated the chair next to the greying haired wizard as she spoke to the man across from him. "If you need any conversation starters we have suggestions on the back of your parchment." Harry flipped the paper over to see a list of questions such as _What are your hobbies?, What do you do?, Cats or Dogs?_. It all looked rather silly to Harry. "If you feel you might like to get to know the person better please indicate with a little star by their name. You may star as many or as few people as you would like. No one is forcing you to choose someone tonight. If two people show an interest in each other we will contact those people with further information. It is up to you from there." She waved her hand and wine glasses appeared on each of the tables. "Shall we begin, gentlemen? You have five minutes." Another wave of her hand and a timer appeared above her head.

Harry turned to find a blonde haired, blue eyed man gaping at him. He smiled brightly. "Hey, there. I'm Harry." The man nodded and Harry had to hold back a sigh. "And you are…"

The man blinked. "Oh. Um, I'm, um, Eric."

Harry nodded as if the man had just delivered an interesting monologue. "Nice to meet you, Eric. So what do you do?" He spoke almost slowly as if speaking to a child.

"I, uh, work at the Ministry."

"Oh, lovely for you. What do you do there?" Harry sighed internally. It was going to be a long night.

After the third dumbstruck "date" Harry gave up taking this night seriously and decided to have a bit of fun. As his fifth partner moved into position and the bell rang, he waited for the other man to speak before looking at him. Apparently the other man had found the evening a waste of time as well, if his curt tone was any indication.

"Apothecary, I hate animals, and I don't do twinks."

Harry looked up from where he'd been using his wand to doodle on the parchment, wide smile spread on his face. "Hero of the wizarding world so I can't hate animals and I'm not a-" He froze as he met familiar black eyes. His jaw gaped open, "Professor?"

Harry gave the man kudos for barely blinking in surprise. "Potter."

"I didn't realize you were-" He waved his hand around to indicate the other men.

"A man? A wizard? Still alive?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Gay."

"You weren't supposed to, Potter. You were a student," he said in a condescending tone that brought back memories.

Harry leaned back, resting his elbow on the chair back, and grinned. "Now _that_ 's a tone I haven't heard in a while. Miss me, Professor?"

The man sneered at him and Harry felt a sudden lightness in his chest he hadn't realized was missing. "How can one _miss_ you, Potter? When one only has to open the paper to see your face?"

Harry mock pouted. "Oh, come on, Professor. I'm hardly ever in the paper anymore." That wasn't necessarily true, depending on which paper you read.

"Enough to satisfy any curiosity one might ever have."

Harry straightened and moved his elbow to the table. "So you've been curious about me, have you?"

Snape took a sip of his wine. "No." Harry snickered and tapped his wand against the parchment, causing the small bunny to leap over a log. "Still playing with your wand like a schoolboy, I see."

Harry grinned mischievously, "Jealous, Professor?" He held the stick out. "I could let you play with my wand, if you ask nicely."

Snape glared at him, "Put that thing away." Harry snickered and slid the wand in his back pocket. "And still as careless with it as always."

"I'm _always_ careful where I put my wand, Professor." Harry tossed him a wink but continued before the man could say anything. "Besides, it's only my back up. I rarely pull my main wand out."

"You're-" Snape blinked and his eyes roamed over Harry and he felt his cock twitch. Damn. Stop that. This is- was his most hated professor. Childhood tormentor, okay maybe not as bad as Dudley, but Dudley had at least apologized. And okay, yes, Snape _had_ saved his life and made it possible for him to defeat Tom back in his seventh year but that didn't make the man _sex_ material. "You still have it?"

It took Harry a second to remember what they were talking about. He nodded. "Yeah. Not like I could give it back to Albus. He tried to use it but," he shrugged and Snape nodded. The wand chooses the wizard. "So what brings you here, Professor?"

Another sip. "I am not a professor anymore, Potter."

"Oh, right. You 'retired' after I left."

"After the Dark Lord was defeated and it was safe to leave. Yes, I left." Snape interrupted him.

Harry shrugged. "So what do you do now?"

"I own an Apothecary shop."

Harry raised his brows in surprise. "Really? I thought you would have had enough of potions."

Snape shrugged. "I always enjoyed potions. It was the insolent brats and dunderheads I couldn't stand."

"Ah, yes. I remember now," Harry took a sip of his own drink.

"And why are you here? Rumor has it you don't need help finding a date."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You've been reading the wrong paper again, Professor." Harry ran a finger over the parchment and a small toad hopped out of the log and the rabbit began hopping after it. "I don't date, casually or otherwise. My friends are trying to get me back out there so Seamus set me up here. Well, I lost a bet and this is my punishment."

"Seamus? Ah, Mr. Finnigan. The little fire specialist from your year, if I remember correctly."

Harry nodded. "That would be him."

"And why are your friends 'trying to get you back out there'?" Snape glanced over at the timer and Harry fought back a smirk.

"Been a while and apparently they think I need to start dating again. Whatever." Harry rolled his eyes and glanced around the room wondering how many more "dates" he had.

"What kind of bet?" Snape ran his long finger over his lip and Harry followed it with his eyes. Merlin what he could do with those fingers if he gave Harry half a chance.

Harry blinked up at him. "What?"

"What. Kind. Of bet. Did you lose?"

"Oh," Harry furrowed his brow. "You know, I'm not sure." He lowered his voice, "Honestly, I think they tricked me. I don't think I _did_ lose a bet." He wasn't about to admit to this man he had actually bet against his own House in the Slytherin/Gryffindor game this year. They had a damn good Seeker and should have won. "Why are you here?" He asked quickly before Snape could interrogate him further.

Snape turned and glared at him. "I too lost a bet."

Harry snorted. "Gryffindor beat Slytherin this year?"

Snape's brow rose in mild surprise. "Yes, actually. So, two months later here I am. How did you know?"

Harry chuckled. "Minerva mentioned the two of you still have an annual bet on it."

Snape eyed him suspiciously. Ever the spy. "When did she mention this?"

"When she showed up at Ginny's Harpies game wearing Slytherin colors last year."

Snape smirked at the memory. "Yes. We won last year and she had to wear green and silver for an entire month," Snape said smugly.

"Well, that's a bit unfair. I think I need to have a word with Minerva."

Snape frowned. "About what, Potter?"

"Well, it hardly seems fair that she had to wear Slytherin colors for an entire month and you have one night of speed dating." Snape glared at him and Harry laughed. "Oh, that's brilliant." He leaned forward. "How many?" Snape continued to glare at him. "That doesn't work on me anymore, Professor. I'll just ask Minerva next time I'm up at the school for tea with Albus."

Snape growled low. "You are still an insufferable, arrogant-"

"Ah. There's the bell. It was wonderful to see you again, Professor. We should do it again sometime."

The man huffed and grabbed his parchment before standing and moving to the next table. Harry beamed at him and moved to his next spot across from a smiling red head. After that one, Harry moved back to his original table to the chair his first stuttering partner had occupied. He looked up as he settled in his seat and his eyes locked with dark orbs across the room. He gave the ex-professor a small smile. Snape ignored him and turned to his partner, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes from drifting across the room during the next five minutes. When that timer went off, Harry watched Snape as they moved chairs. He took in the long legs covered by muggle jeans and Harry felt his own jeans tighten as he realized Snape was nothing but legs. A shiver raced down Harry's spine as he thought of those long legs wrapped around him. He shook the thought from his head. This man had hated him for most of his life, and even if he still didn't, there was no way in hell he'd ever want anything to do with James Potter's son.

By the time Harry sat down across from his last partner of the night he was ready to strangle Seamus and was already thinking of new and humiliating paybacks for when the fire-starter lost his next bet. Harry smiled politely at the blonde across from him. He beamed back and Harry knew what was coming. He bit back a groan.

"Name's Andy. I can't believe you're Harry Potter." The man was practically bouncing in his seat. "I've been waiting all night to meet you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes. Savior of the wizarding world. I own three snakes because they know how to carry on a decent conversation and I'm _really_ into bloodplay." He ran assessing eyes over the paling blonde and leaned forward. "Can I see your incisors? Do you file them? If not we can always use a knife. I only have silver." Harry gave the man a concerned look when he reared back in horror. "Oh. Are you a werewolf?" He whispered conspiratorially. "We don't have to use mine. You can bring your own."

The man frantically began to shake his head. "N- no."

"No? You're not a werewolf?" Harry frowned. "Pity. I heard they get _really_ into it closer to a full moon."

"I- I'm not."

Harry snickered. "I'm kidding. I don't really do bloodplay. It's so messy." Andy seemed to relax a little at his words. "Now bondage," he nodded and smiled knowingly. "With bondage you really have to set the pattern from the beginning," he said as if instructing a class. "It's important to let the submissive know you're in charge. Do you already have a safe word?" The blonde was shaking his head again and Harry reached out to pat his hand consolingly, "It's okay. We won't start until you've chosen one. Now, as I was saying, the trick with the whip is to get it at just the right angle so it stings but doesn't draw blood. I told you, blood is messy." Harry tilted his hand just so and looked up at his victim.

The man's eyes darted frantically around and locked onto someone's pleadingly. Harry turned his head to see the man beside him gaping in shock. Harry hadn't realized he had an audience. He smiled politely, "Oh, did you have something to add?" Harry turned his body so he could rest his elbow in his knee while he spoke to the man. "Tell me, do you prefer ball gags or bit gags? Personally I'm a fan of the ring gags that let your sub's mouth fill with saliva so when you finally-"

"Potter!"

Harry's head jerked up and his cheeks filled with heat as Snape glared at him. He sat back. "So sorry, Professor. Didn't mean to take you away from your partner. Andy and I were just trying to decide where to start." He glanced over at the man across from him who was vigorously shaking his head. "No? Not your thing? Ah, well. How about you, Professor?"

Harry turned bright green eyes on Snape and the man only glared at him and turned to face his partner but Harry thought he saw the tall man squirm a bit in his seat.


	2. A Singular Event

Steven Prince

**You are cordially invited to attend** :

Magical Match's Fondue night

In the heart of Diagon Alley at

Café Martine19th March @ 7p

By your MagicalMatch.wiz match

\---Evan Black----

RSVP no later than 10th March

 

 

Severus glanced over at his calendar then back at the e-vite (That's what it was called right?). His heart lurched in his chest and he almost wanted to slam his head against the desk. Merlin. If Minerva could see him now her thin lips would crack in that knowing smile and no doubt Albus's blue eyes would be twinkling up a storm. Why was he still torturing himself? The war was long over and he hadn't been a spy for nearly ten years. He sighed. Who needs a Dark Lord when you have plenty of "friends" willing to torture you? One month. That's all he'd had to endure. Two of those idiotic "speed dating" events and a one month subscription to the stupid match sight. Except he'd "met" Evan Black, and the man was smart, witty, with a dry sense of humor to match Severus's own. He'd traveled the world as an independent curse breaker and the two had compared notes on different regions. Severus _liked_ the man and when the time came for Minerva's "gift" to expire he had renewed it. He groaned. Why had those two taken it into their heads he needed a _boyfriend_? Severus scoffed at the word. He was beyond the age of boyfriends, now a lover was another story. Severus shifted in his seat at the memory of green eyes flashing with mirth as he'd offered to tie Severus up and- No. Potter had not offered, he'd merely been teasing the poor man that had partnered him at the time and Severus just _happened_ to be the one to call him on it. His eyes glanced down at the invitation, yes, definitely time for a lover. He followed the link in the invite to the Magical Match website to confirm when he saw his message icon lit up. His stomach clenched as he clicked on it.

 

> Steven,
> 
> I hope I'm not being too forward. Did you get the invitation?  
> There is no one else I would rather spend an evening with,  
> sampling a variety of exquisite fondues and you had expressed  
> an interest in meeting face to face. I know we have only been  
> chatting for a little over a month, but I feel as if I have known  
> you for years. If you are not ready, I understand, but the  
> opportunity arose and I thought I would make the offer.
> 
>    -Sincerely, Evan

Severus clicked on the reply button and sent the man a message back letting him know he did indeed wish to join him for the evening and looked forward to finally having a face to face conversation with the man. Severus was looking forward to meeting the mysterious Evan Black and getting to know him, because, even though they had exchanged messages and chatted several times through the website, they had exchanged very little personal information. Severus wasn't sure if the man had reservations about opening himself up or, like Severus, wasn't ready to discuss certain aspects of his life just yet. Perhaps, after they had a chance to meet and got to know one another they would be more willing to open up to each other. Severus made sure to click the accept link on the invite before closing out the browser and shutting down his computer.

He had to admit that many of the muggle borns had done an excellent job on bringing the Wizarding world into the twenty-first century after the war. It had taken several years to figure out a way to work around the technology/electricity issue but once they had, things had taken off. Of course, some things were still done the old-fashioned way. Owls were still more common than emails for personal correspondence and very few witches or wizards drove magically enhanced vehicles. Severus himself still had not obtained a "cell phone" though Draco had been on him for months to get one. He did just fine without it. He stood from his desk and stretched, deciding a nice glass of Cognac was just what he needed before bed.

 

Severus had only been in the small café once before, it was too popular for his liking. But tonight it was closed for the Magical Match Single's Event, if the sign out front was any indication. He stepped under the green and white striped awning and paused at the lady standing at the open door with her scroll floating in front of her.

"Name?"

"Steven Prince."

"Ah, here you are. Guest of Mr. Black." She smiled up at him and Severus recognized the Hufflepuff from back during Potter's years. He did not worry about being recognized as he had already checked his Glamoure at least five times. "Table seven. The booth in the back. Have a good evening, Mr. Prince."

He nodded to her and stepped into the dimly lit café. A smattering of tables was set up around the tiled floors and privacy booths lined the walls on both sides, making the restaurant seem smaller with their ceiling-high backs. He made his way to the back far booth trying to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. He walked up to the table and saw a man of medium height with dark brown hair sitting in the booth with his back to the café. He looked up as Severus neared and Severus was slightly disappointed at how plain the man looked. He gave a mental shrug, he was still attracted to the man’s mind, at least. And lights could be turned low.

“Mr. Black?” He asked tentatively.

The man’s smile broadened, brown eyes twinkling behind rounded spectacles. “Steven?” Severus nodded and Evan Black stood up and held his hand out. "It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Please sit down.”

Severus let his hand slide from the other man’s, amazed at how smooth they were. He settled into the booth as the younger man settled in across from him. Evan pulled out his wand and placed it on the table under his hand.

“Do you mind?” He indicated the rest of the restaurant and Severus shook his head.

“By all means. I imagine the servers are used to it.”

Evan nodded and lifted his wand with a small movement and placed it back into the pocket of his dark blue robes. Severus felt the rush of magic as the privacy shield went up. He breathed a sigh of relief and Evan smiled at him. “Shall we remove the Glamoures now?”

Severus shouldn’t have been surprised the man had noticed his, he’d felt the others the minute they’d shook hands. He nodded and muttered the spell to remove his Glamoure at the same time as the other man. Severus sat stunned as he glared across the table. It was the laughter that finally broke the spell.

He jumped to his feet. “What the hell? Is this some sort of trick?”

The man waved his hand, “Oh sit down, Snape. The food’s already paid for and it will be here any minute.” Severus continued to glare at his ex-student, the man sighed. "If it's any consolation, I'm just as surprised to see you."

Severus eyed the man warily, “I will admit to a bit of curiosity as to what you deem exquisite.”

The man smiled brightly, “We’ll just turn date night into dinner between old friends.”

He eyed the man in the booth across from him. “We are not friends, Potter. We never have been.”

The man’s smile faded slightly. “Surely we’re both mature enough to move beyond the past. Maybe we can take this opportunity to move towards friendship.”

Severus narrowed his eyes. “What if I do not wish to be _friends_?”

The man shrugged, “Then be a Slytherin and enjoy a free dinner and next time, at least hint that you might not be using your real name.”

Severus glared at the green eyed man across from him, “As if you have any room to talk. Evan. Black.”

“I did not lie to you about anything, if that is what you are alluding to.” Severus’s eyebrow went up but didn’t say anything as a waiter appeared beside their table.

“Glamoure, Snape,” Potter warned as he put his own back up. Severus muttered the spell just as the barrier went down and the waiter stepped up.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” the waiter said. “Fondue Bourguignonne with roasted vegetables and steak strips.” Potter nodded and the waiter placed a bubbling pot surrounded by strips of uncooked meat and vegetables in the middle of the table. “Classic Swiss with tomato and a Three cheese with crusty baguette, cubed ham, fresh mushrooms, artichoke hearts and zucchini.” He added two more pots of warmed cheese beside the first and a large plate filled with an assortment of meats and vegetables between them. He then produced two wine glasses and set them in front of Severus and Potter. “And a dry Chenin Blanc.” He twisted the bottle open and poured the white wine before placing the chilled wine in the small bucket beside Potter.

Potter thanked the waiter and the man disappeared as Potter waved his hand, throwing the barrier back up and removing his Glamoure. “You forgot to use your wand, Potter.”

The man shrugged. “I’ve no need to hide it from you, Professor. Please,” he indicated the food and picked up a fondue fork. “I ordered the Bourguignonne to give us a little variety. They have a delicious Coq A Vin fondue but I find the dryness of the red they use contrasts with the dry white of the Chenin Blanc I usually enjoy with my fondue. If it is not to your liking we can order a different bottle.”

Severus blamed the many years since his spy days for allowing the look of shock to show on his face. Potter chuckled. “I told you, Professor. I did not lie to you.”

Severus picked up a fondue fork and pierced a piece of raw chicken and lowered it into the boiling oil. “What about your name?”

Potter smirked. “I am legally allowed to call myself Evan Black. It is my legal pseudonym for my business.”

Severus placed the cooked chicken on a small plate to cool and grabbed another fork to spear a slice of zucchini. “As a curse breaker?”

Potter nodded. “Yes. Evan Black, independent curse breaker.”

They continued to dip and eat as they talked and Severus was pleased to see Potter had fairly decent taste when it came to food. The wine was an excellent pairing with the cheeses. “So why did you not become an auror? I thought that was your goal.”

Potter shrugged. “I thought about it. But I was so tired of fighting. Plus, I knew any team I was put on would only endanger the other members. Any wizards we went up against would aim for whichever group I was in first. Take out the strongest and all. It’s the same reason I use Evan Black when I’m working. Popularity breeds contempt or something like that.”

Severus nodded his understanding. “Familiarity. So what led you to curse breaking?”

“My non-engagement.”

Severus bit too hard into his mushroom and his teeth clanked against the metal fork. “You’re what?”

“My non-engagement. Surely you are aware I was expected to marry Ginny Weasley.”

“The rumor had circulated,” he said vaguely.

“Well, I _was_ going to propose to her,” he said as he twirled the cheese around a roasted pepper, “but she told me I should really think about what I want instead of what was expected of me. She’d just been offered a position with the Harpies and didn’t want to tie either of us down. A friend of Bill’s needed some specialized help and I had the skills he needed, so I offered to help. Turns out I have a knack for breaking curses.” He smiled over at Severus. “So what about you? What have you been doing?”

Severus chewed the beef in his mouth and swallowed. “I told you. I own an Apothecary.”

“Yes. But _how_ did you come to own a shop? And if you say you bought it I’ll throw this broccoli at you.” He held up a cheese covered broccoli floret, effectively cutting off Severus’s retort. “You seem more of an owl order business man. Less customers to deal with.”

Severus cleared his throat, unnerved at how well this man knew him. “It did start out as an owl order business but I was convinced to open a store front.”

Potter smirked at him. “And who has enough influence over the great Severus Snape to convince _you_ of anything?”

“ _You_ convinced me to stay for dinner,” he pointed out.

Potter shook his head. “No. I gave you the reason you needed to do what you already wanted to do.”

Severus snorted. “There’s still a little bit of Slytherin left in you, isn’t there. Potter?”

Potter beamed at him. “Well, my snakes don’t complain.”

Severus paused, almost over-cooking his beef strip. “You meant that? What you said to that man.”

Potter looked up through his lashes in a manner that could only be described as coy. “Which part, Professor?”

Severus felt the blood rush to his groin at the seductive tone. He glared at Potter. “About your three snakes.”

“Well, I’ve only got one but you’re more than welcome to meet him.” Severus glared at Potter’s blatant innuendo but the younger man ignored him. “His name is King,” Potter continued in his normal voice.” I got him when I was in Texas, he’s a Mexican black and is already nearly five feet long.”

“So you don’t have three?”

Potter shrugged a single shoulder. “Eh. I’ve a couple that visit regularly when I’m in my garden. But I’d never call them pets.”

“You didn’t lose the ability then?” Severus ran his eyes over Potter's wide shoulders and muscles that played beneath the sleeves of his blue robe.

“Oh no, Professor. I haven’t lost anything. In fact, I’d say I’ve gained quite a few talents since last we met.” Potter’s sultry tone sent shivers down Severus’s spine.

Severus took a steadying breath. Potter was just being his normal flirty self, he didn’t mean anything by it. Severus was sure the man spoke to everyone like this. He needed to get control of his hormones. It had been too long since he’d had a decent shag.

“And what particular _talent_ do you possess that led you to curse breaking?”

Potter sighed and rolled his eyes. “Are we back on that topic? Are you still convinced I lied to you?”

“I just wish to know what led you to such an odd choice of careers.”

Potter shook his head. “I know you think I enjoy talking about myself, but you still haven’t told me who was able to convince you to open a storefront and deal with customers.”

“Who said I deal with customers, Potter?”

Potter bowed his head in defeat. “Touché.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the food before the cheese over cooked. Potter finally spoke again.

“Speaking of Pseudonyms. Steven.”

Severus dipped his cooked chicken into the Swiss fondue. “It is my middle name.” He looked up to see Potter fighting a smile. He glared. “What?”

Potter let out an indelicate snort. “Sorry. You’re name is Severus Steven Snape? S. S. S. Well that’s not at all ironic for a Slytherin.”

Severus fought back his own smile. “Shut up, Potter.”

The man bit back his chuckles but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. Severus shoved the chicken in his mouth before he could join the man in his laughter. They talked a while longer and Severus was once again impressed with the man’s travels, he himself had barely been further than France. Occasionally the Gryffindor would get Severus to crack a small smile then spend the next five minutes gloating about it. Potter had refilled their glasses twice before the waiter reappeared outside the barrier with another tray.

“Ooh. Dessert,” Potter exclaimed, reapplying his Glamoure and waiting for Severus to cast his before removing the barrier.

“Ready for dessert, gentlemen?” Potter nodded and the man cleared the dishes with a wave of his wand and placed a tray with three pots filled with a dark chocolate, a white chocolate, and one that looked like caramel. Severus’s mouth began to water as if he hadn’t eaten all day. “The evening’s dessert fondues include a Nutty Rum chocolate, White chocolate Amaretto, and a café caramel with an assortment of fruit, cubed cake and biscotti.” He placed two cups of steaming black coffee in front of them and bowed away.

Barrier up and Glamoures off, Severus eyed the three melting pots. “Nutty Rum _and_ White Amaretto, Potter. Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Potter shrugged and picked up a clean fondue fork. “Well, I was hoping to take Steven home tonight and have my way with him but, guess it’s just me and the shower. Again,” he added as he dug through the pile of fruit and stabbed at an apple.

Severus was almost sorry he had revealed himself. He’d paid attention to Potter at the speed dating event after they’d partnered. The man was fit under those robes. Potter moaned and Severus’s head snapped up to see the man’s eyes closed in bliss as he chewed, strings of caramel decorating his pink lips. Severus’s breath hitched at the soft sighs coming from Potter. His tongue peaked out and licked at the missed caramel and Severus felt his cock harden. He pulled his eyes away from the erotic vision in front of him and poked randomly at the plate and came back with a cube of cake.

“I love dessert,” Potter said and Severus looked up to see the man dipping a strawberry into the white Amaretto. “I rarely got any when I was growing up, so it kind of reminds me of Hogwarts.”

Severus nodded, knowing the feeling, as he dipped his cake into the dark chocolate. He looked up just in time to see Potter slide the white strawberry into his mouth, teeth delicately biting into the fruit to pull it off the fork. He sucked the white mass into his mouth and let out another soft groan. Severus felt his legs fall open, could almost feel his arse clenching, begging to be filled. He stuffed the cake into his mouth to cover his own groan of desire. Potter smiled widely at him.

“Decadent isn’t it?”

“It is quite delicious,” he conceded. He tore his eyes from Potter and concentrated on calming his blood so he would be able to walk out of here when the dinner was over.

“I hope coffee is okay,” Potter said, adding cream to his coffee. “I probably should have gone with variations on one specific chocolate so we could have a proper dessert wine since nothing really goes with all three of these choices. But I like variety, and I couldn’t decide so, I figure coffee with dessert is always good. Plus, like you said, we’ve already got the rum and amaretto.” He dipped a cookie into the dark chocolate and bit into it, smiling brightly at Severus.

“Indeed,” Severus replied and looked down to spear a strawberry, knowing he was going to be ending the night in his own shower.


	3. (Lemon Drop)ping in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics=Parseltongue (In case you couldn't figure it out) :)

Harry made a point to Apparate just outside the gates of Hogwarts and eyed the winged boars on either side of the wrought iron gates as he stepped through. He took a deep breath and felt like he’d just come home. He let his midnight blue robes swirl around him and he walked purposefully up the walk towards the castle entrance. He was a half hour early but Albus wouldn’t mind. Besides, Harry knew things happened. He smiled to himself as he passed Hagrid’s hut and heard a loud bellow. He turned and waved as the large half giant crossed over to him.

“’Arry.” He was engulfed in the large arms and did his best to hug the man back.

“Hello, Hagrid. How are the Thestrals?”

Hagrid finally put him down. “Good. Good.” He looked around as if looking for someone. “Fangs ‘round ‘ere somewhere.”

Harry looked around apprehensively for the over large dog and sighed guiltily when he didn’t see the mutt. He really didn’t want his robes covered in drool before tea with Albus. “I’ll catch him later, Hagrid. I’ve got a meeting with Albus.”

Hagrid turned to face him so fast Harry could have sworn he felt a rush of air. “A meetin’. Fer what?”

“Well, I don’t know, Hagrid. He just sent me an owl last week and asked if we could move our monthly tea up to today. I learned long ago not to question Albus.”

Hagrid laughed, drawing the attention of several wandering students. Harry ignored the stares and attempted to keep his balance as Hagrid patted his back. “’Aven’t we all, ‘Arry? We still on for next weekend?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “As if Ron and I would miss poker night. That reminds me, I promised Neville next time I was in the area I’d see about the snake in greenhouse two.”

“Al'ight, I’ll let you to it, ‘Arry. See you Saturday.”

“Okay, Hagrid. You take care.” He was once again enveloped in thick arms before being dropped to his feet. Thankfully years of practice kept his knees from buckling. He continued on to the castle, passing lounging fifth and seventh years that had already taken their N.E.W.Ts and O.W.Ls. He could hear the whispers as he passed and ignored them. He wondered if it would ever end, probably not in his lifetime. He skipped up the castle steps and made his way through the near empty corridors to the exit closest to the greenhouses. He passed a group of second or third years who froze and gaped at him. He smiled politely and one of the girls blushed a violent red. He winked at her friend and a sharp cry of “Katie” followed him down the hall. He chuckled to himself. He stepped out into the shadows of the castle and made his way over to greenhouse two. He checked to make sure there were no classes inside and pushed the door open. He glanced at the small bracelet wrapped around his wrist before he spoke.

_“Hello,”_ he hissed. _“I was told I might find a friend in here.”_ A rustling came from the shelf to his left and he stepped quietly over to that side. _“Hello?”_

A small green head peeked out from among the scattered pots and a tongue flickered in his face. _“Who are you to speak my tongue?”_

_“Merely a humble descendant of the Great Salazar.”_ He had learned this was the best reply for most English snakes.

_“Aah. My ancestors speak of the Great Friend Salazar. Why do you seek me out?”_

_“I was asked to speak to you about the females of my species that occupy this place at times.”_

The snake slid further out from the potted plants. _“You mean the ones that scream like the mice that slide into my stomach?”_

Harry bit back laughter. _“Yes. Those.”_

_“They are annoying. And jumpy like a rabbit. I do not like rabbits.”_

_“Perhaps you would prefer a new home?”_

The snake looked around the greenhouse as if debating, then looked over at Harry. _“I may go with you?”_

Harry nodded, _“You may. I have other friends of the Great Salazar that burrow in my yard. You may join them.”_

_“Then lend me your arm, friend, that I might ride on your shoulders.”_

_“What is your name, friend?”_

_“I am called Alisstor.”_

Harry nodded and held his arm out and, as the snake began to slither up his arm, he realized why the animal had caused such a ruckus. It was a slender snake but was nearly as long as Harry was tall. “ _Are there any rats left in this place?”_

“ _Yes, plenty of small animals reside within the walls of this castle,”_ the snake answered, not recognizing the sarcasm.

Harry sighed and stepped from the greenhouse just as the bell rang. He saw a group of students emerge from greenhouse four and headed over there. Several students stopped mid stride causing their classmates to bump into them. One girl saw the snake wrapped around his neck and screamed before running off.

_“Annoying rabbit,”_ the snake hissed after her.

_“Be nice,”_ Harry admonished the snake as they walked into the greenhouse to see the blonde teacher surrounded by students. “ _Nev,I-“_

Neville looked up and frowned, cutting him off. “English, Harry.”

Harry felt his face blush and heard several small gasps. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his English. He smiled at Neville and held up the snake. “Sorry. I took care of greenhouse two. Alisstor is coming to live with me.”

Neville nodded. “Tell him we are grateful for keeping the rodent population down and will miss him terribly.”

“Snakes do not understand sarcasm, Nev,” he told his friend. “I will see you next Saturday. I have tea with Dumbledore.”

“Alright, Harry. See you later.”

“Professor,” one of the girls hissed as Harry turned to go, “you know Harry Potter?”

Harry turned to the girl, “Of course he does. Don’t you listen in Professor Binns class?” He laughed to let the gaping girl know he was kidding and headed back to the castle.

The halls were crowded this time as he made his way to the headmaster’s office. He was stopped by Zabini, the new potions professor and head of Slytherin House, so the man could comment on Harry’s new friend, Madame Hooch caught him and they spent several minutes going over Ginny’s last game and debating Puddlemere’s new Chaser. Just down the hall from the headmaster’s office Harry saw Professor McGonagall berating two students wearing Slytherin pins on their robes.

“And don’t let me catch you again,” she said, just as Harry slid up behind her.

“And ten points from Slytherin. Each,” he added and his old head of house twirled around.

“Harry,” she cried in glee and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Professor, how are you?” The two Slytherins watched their teacher in horror and Harry gave them a wink and made a shooing motion. Being Slytherins, they wasted no time in scuttling off.

She pushed away from him and slapped his arm. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. Oh, I forgot Albus mentioned you were coming by today.” She turned her head, looking for the two delinquents. “And you’ve lost me my detainees.”

Harry laughed, “It’s not a prison, Minerva. Though sometimes I’m sure it felt like one.”

She hit his arm again and the small snake hissed at her. She jerked her arm back. “Don’t worry, Minerva. Alisstor is harmless. He just likes to think he’s something special.”

“Is that the one from greenhouse two?”

He nodded. “It is. He has agreed to come live with me.”

She shook her head. “Keep this up, Harry, and you’ll have more snakes than yard.”

He just chuckled, “I should get going. I’m almost late for my meeting with Albus.”

“It was lovely to see you again, Harry. Hopefully, we’ll see a bit more of you, now that you’re back in England.”

He nodded and gave the password Albus had included in the owl. He rode the stairs up and knocked on the Griffin knocker.

“Enter,” came the familiar voice.

Harry stepped into the office and smiled at the old man sitting on the other side of the desk, his yellow robe twinkling with silver stars. Albus stood and walked around to greet Harry. “Harry, my boy. How are you?”

“I’m good, Albus. You?” He shook the man’s proffered hand.

“As well as can be expected at my age.” He motioned to the seat in front of his desk and Harry sat down, confusion evident on his face, as they usually sat in front of the fireplace.

Albus rounded the desk and settled back in his chair. “Lemon drop, Harry?”

He held up the tin and Harry took one automatically. “Thanks.”

Albus nodded. “We will get to our monthly tea time shortly, Harry, but there’s a bit of business I would like to discuss beforehand.” Harry nodded at him to continue. “How is England treating you?”

Harry didn’t even blink at the abrupt change of topic, if change it was. “I am glad to be back. I think I may be done with my wanderings for a bit. At least any extended trips.”

The old wizard nodded. “I imagine you are ready to settle down a bit. Did you have a job today?” He nodded his head to Harry’s robes.

Harry looked down as if needing reminding what he wore. “Yes. An old music box that was cursed to play the same song over and over but never finishing. It stopped at the same spot every time and restarted.”

Albus winced. “How horrible.”

Harry nodded. “One would think so. Until I fixed it and we realized an amateur was playing the piece and destroyed the rest of the music horribly. The owner tossed it.”

Albus laughed heartily. “Ah, Harry. You always have the best stories. Which brings me to why I asked to see you.”

Harry looked around the room as if expecting someone to jump out, “Are we there already, Albus? I thought for sure we had several more minutes of meaningless conversation to go.”

“Behave,” his mentor glared playfully at him. “Are you serious about staying around for a bit, Harry?”

Harry nodded solemnly. “Yes. Teddy starts school next year so I won’t be able to drag him away from his parents whenever I feel like it. Rose is two now and Hermione is expecting another one any time. They want to name me godfather of this one as well. I should be here for my godchildren.”

Blue eyes twinkled at him. “Our Defense teacher is leaving. He was here for nearly eight years, but his daughter took her N.E.W.Ts this year and he would like to do some traveling of his own.”

Harry stared at the man, dumbfounded. “Albus, are you offering me the position?”

He nodded once. “Indeed I am, young Harry. No Head of House duties and two months off in the summer if you wished to continue your independent business. There will be the occasional Hogsmeade weekend to chaperone and night time patrols of course. Which I’m sure you are aware of.”

“I- I don’t know what to say, Albus.”

“Well, I am hoping you will say yes. Think about it. You don’t have to give me an answer right away. I don’t have to submit my candidates until July. Just so you are aware, there is one other applicant, but I highly doubt the board will approve of him.” Harry was about to jokingly ask if it was Snape but Dumbledore continued talking. “There is also the need for references.”

Harry snorted. “Shall I start with my defeat of Riddle or just jump right into tearing their magic apart?”

“Harry,” Albus hissed and glanced at the portraits.

Harry blushed. “Sorry, Professor.”

“Ah, ten years later and it’s still the sweetest sound to my ears. Once again, Potter, for the masses.”

Harry spun around and had to keep from placing a hand over his heart as it thumped in his chest. His mouth went dry at the sight of the man in muggle jeans that accentuated his hips and the white cotton shirt that hugged his thin frame. Harry licked his lips and stood, turning to face the man in the doorway fully.

“Professor, we have got to stop meeting like this.” He moved forward and held his hand out as he had back in the restaurant last time they’d met. Snape automatically took it and Harry gave him a sly smile as he firmed his grip before the man could realize what he’d done.

“Potter,” He growled and pulled his hand from Harry’s.

Harry had a sudden thought and turned to Albus. “It’s not Snape is it, Albus? I don’t think I can-“

Albus laughed and waved a hand. “Do not worry, Harry. It’s all I can do to get him to come visit me for tea. I doubt I could offer him enough to get him back in here to teach.”

Snape turned horrified eyes from Harry to Albus. “Teach? Absolutely not. I’m done with dimwitted children who haven’t got the sense to use an _Impervius_ when the skies open up.”

“No one is asking you to teach, Severus,” Albus reassured him. “Come in. Come in. You are just in time for tea.” As if on cue, a large tray appeared on the table in front of the couch. “Ah. Right on time. Come along.”

Snape grabbed a chair and sat down while Harry thought of his favorite office chair from home and sat down in the comfortable wingback. Albus chuckled as he sat down across from Snape and poured out the tea. He nodded towards Harry’s chair. “Don’t leave it here this time.”

Harry shrugged. “I’ll remember it next time I go in my office and Summon it back home,” he reassured the old wizard.

Harry took the second cup of tea Albus held out. “Last time it took you a week to remember to Summon it back.”

“You’re only miffed because Minerva was sitting in it when it disappeared out from under her. Just don’t let her sit in it tonight. I’ll need it when I go to write up my invoice,” he held out the edge of his robe as if to remind Albus.

The man chuckled. “Oh yes. You must tell Severus about the music box. This is quite funny, Severus.”

Harry turned to look at the man who was eyeing him over his teacup. Harry swallowed. “Oh, I doubt, Professor Snape will find it the least bit funny.”

“Humor me, Potter,” Snape said and a bolt of lust shot through Harry’s body. Damn, the man had a Voice.

He began to shake his head but was interrupted by the fluttering of wings. They looked over as a small owl fluttered across the room and landed on the chair beside Albus. Albus took the scroll from the owl's leg and fed it a small cookie.

“Oh. Well, that _is_ unfortunate.” He let the scroll furl closed in his hand and looked up. “Gentlemen, I’m afraid I am going to have to cut out a bit early.” He held up the missive. “Bit of a to do over at the Ministry. Please, stay and enjoy the wonderful tea the elves have prepared. I feel horrible for having invited you over just so you have to rush off without eating, the least I can do is leave you in their capable hands. If you need anything just call for Winky. Harry, you will think about it?” Harry nodded. “Excellent. Remember, July. Severus, my boy, I’m sorry we did not get a chance to visit. I will have you over for dinner one day soon.”

Harry saw the man nod from the corner of his eye and Albus stood and left the office in a whirl of yellow and silver robes. Harry sat back, feeling as if he were the one that had been swirling about. He took a sip of his tea.

“What will you think about?”

“Hmm?” Harry turned his attention to the man beside him. “I think we were set up.”

“No doubt,” Snape agreed easily. “What does he wish you to think about?”

Harry smirked at the man. “Lots of things I’m sure.”

Snape glared at him over his cup. “What _specifically_ does he wish you to decide on before July?” Snape’s eyes widened a fraction. “And why do you have a snake wrapped around your neck?”

Harry felt Alisstor move. “This is Alisstor, former resident of greenhouse two, future resident of twelve Grimmauld Place.”

“Another pet?”

Harry shook his head, “I told you I only have one pet snake. The offer still stands by the way.” Harry smirked, “If you’re nice and he likes you, I met let you pet him.” He held back the shiver at the thought of those long fingers sliding over his “snake.”

Snape ignored him and took a sip of his tea. Harry reached forward and grabbed a sandwich from the tray. “You still have not answered my original question.”

Harry snorted, “Why do you insist on asking me questions you already know the answer to? Typical spy.”

“You are familiar with how spies work?”

“I know how _you_ work,” Harry said and took a bite of the cucumber sandwich.

“I doubt that, Mr. Potter.”

Harry held his sandwich out towards Snape. “You know, if we are going to keep meeting like this, perhaps I could call you Severus.”

Snape closed his eyes briefly, inhaling the aroma of his tea, at least that’s what Harry thought he was doing. “No. And I will not call you ‘Harry’ either.”

Harry bit his bottom lip at the way his name slid like silk on silk from Snape’s lips. He tore his eyes away from the man reaching for a sandwich to catch his breath.

“So the DADA position is once again available?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. It seems so.”

Snape nodded as he chewed his sandwich. “You are welcome to it. I do not envy you it.”

“Thanks. It means a lot to know you aren’t my competition.” He took another bite and they sat in silence. “I wouldn’t have taken it, if it had been you.” He glanced up into dark eyes and quickly looked away. “I would not have done that to you.”

“I appreciate that, Mr. Potter. Sometimes," he hesitated slightly,"it is nice to know one has the respect of others.”

Harry’s head shot up. “A lot of people respect you, Snape. You just can’t see past your own lack of self-worth. People know what you did for the war. You’re a brave man. People know that. I know that,” Harry added quietly.

They sat silent for several minutes, sipping tea and eating sandwiches.

“Tell me about the box.” Harry’s eyes shot up to meet dark orbs and he furrowed his brow. “The music box, Albus mentioned.” Harry started to shake his head. “Please.”

Harry took a sip of his tea and set the cup on the table. He fingered the hem of his robe. “I don’t like the color of this fabric. It’s too close to black. But it’s the only color the fabric comes in.”

“You are starting to make me think you spend too much time with Albus. Okay, I’ll bite. If you do not like the only color of fabric that material comes in, why do you purchase it?”

“It is specially made for me. To help contain my magic. To help me focus it.”

“You did not wear it to dinner back in March.”

Harry eyed him. “You left Magical Match.com”

Snape sighed, “I had no further reason to stay on. Please focus, Potter.”

It gave Harry a small thrill to think he had been the reason the man had stayed on the dating website. “I really only need it when I’m breaking curses. The magic can get out of hand when I’m not focusing to contain it and I lose focus easily when I’m concentrating on dark magic.”

“So you had a job today? The music box?” Harry nodded and repeated the story he had told Albus earlier. Snape smirked. “So someone had used dark magic to charm a music box to only play the good part and when you broke the supposed curse the rest of the music was bad?”

Harry chuckled. “Not just bad, Snape. It was horrible. Like Peeves trying to sing.”

Snape cringed. "I don't dare imagine." Harry leaned forward and refilled his cup and offered more for the other man. Snape nodded and Harry poured for him before taking his own cup and settling back. He felt Snape's eyes boring into him, studying him.

"Ask your question, Professor."

Snape barely blinked. "Why does your magic need to be contained?"

"It is not so bad now, it's almost like an afterthought, something I do subconsciously, but like I said, when I am curse-breaking, I tend to lose focus. After the last battle I spent a year helping rebuild the castle while Albus helped me learn to control my powers.”

Snape raised an eyebrow. “I thought that’s what you spent seven years at school for?”

Harry gave a self-deprecating smile. “Yes, well, come to find out, Tom’s little Horcrux was blocking quite a bit of my magic.”

Snape nodded, “Albus had said something about a power release.”

Harry nodded. “Helping to rebuild the school helped me to learn to focus and control it. It's almost second nature to me now. But curse breaking requires a lot of concentration."

Snape studied him over the rim of his teacup. "Is your 'power surge' what makes you so good at curse breaking? I did a bit of investigative work. Evan Black is a highly sought after curse breaker. How many offers from Gringott's have you turned down?"

Harry smiled knowingly at the potioneer. "I should have known you'd eventually look into Evan. Several. And I'm sure the surge has something to do with my curse breaking as it revealed a heretofore unknown ability."

An eyebrow rose, "Your 'talent'?"

Harry rolled his eyes. The man was like a Niffler with a new piece of gold. "You will not drop it until I tell you, will you?" The man merely looked at him and Harry had the brief thought of what it might take to make the man loose his composure. He stifled the shiver and sighed audibly. "Fine." Snape barely shifted as the privacy shield went up around them, keeping the portraits from overhearing their conversation. "Don't move," he told the man watching him. Harry removed his glasses and let the man's features go fuzzy, concentrating on the aura that surrounded him. He brought it into focus and knew Snape could feel his intrusion as the man shifted slightly. "Don't move, Professor," Harry said again and the man went still. Harry brought the aura back in to focus and studied it for several minutes before closing his eyes and slipping his glasses back on. He pulled his sleeve up enough to reveal the small bracelet there and flipped his arm over to focus on the black pendant. He finally looked back up at the dark haired man. "Your magic is a mixture of green and dark blue surrounded by an aura of white. You also have streaks of grey from your time linked to Riddle. It's not as dark as Lucius Malfoy's, but then again, you fought against it almost the entire time you had it. You can move now, by the way."

Snape nodded his head as a thank you. "So you can read magic. That is helpful in knowing what counter-curses are needed but not such an unusual talent to warrant secrecy, Mr. Potter." He indicated the invisible barrier around them.

Harry smirked, "You are correct, Professor. And it is the reason I went to Egypt, but not the reason I am such a successful curse breaker. Did you never wonder about my team?" He eyed the man, watching as he bit into another sandwich.

"I assumed you went in, assessed the situation and called in a specialist if you needed one."

Harry shrugged. "I've never needed one. I can unbind the magic myself. I don't even need to know counter-curses. Bill's friend, Anjib, helped me figure it out. I went in to help him with a job and when I saw the dark magic I just knew how to pull it out."

He saw Snape's Adam's Apple bob as he swallowed. "You can… undo magic?"

Harry nodded. "Very few people know, Professor."

The man snorted. "I should hope so. That is a very dangerous power to have, Potter. Can you use it on wizards?"

Harry nodded. "I can. We weren't sure at first since most people don't like having their magic messed with."

Snape snorted. "I should think not."

Harry smirked. "But Albus was able to find someone who had not had the Dark Mark long and was willing to allow us to attempt to remove the residual dark magic Tom left behind. I would never attempt it on one who has had the mark as long as you, the magic is too entwined."

He saw Snape glance down at his arm where Harry knew a faded tattoo sat under the skin like an old bruise or ink stain that wouldn't come off. "Who?"

Harry shifted in his seat, unsure if the man wanted his secrets revealed.

Snape sighed. "Just tell me, Potter. If the Mark was still relatively new then he would have been one of mine, most likely. And probably the same year as-" He saw Snape's eyes widen. "Oh. He never mentioned. Of course he wouldn't. Did you make him sign a contract?"

Harry nodded. "Hermione drew it up herself and Albus witnessed it. He is not allowed to speak of it."

"Does Lucius know?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. That is how I know I would never try to remove yours. Lucius came to me after Draco told him and I tried but- it was painful, the dark magic was too entangled with his own. It would be like trying to separate the core of your wand from the wood. Doable, but neither would ever be the same."

Snape took a sip of his tea. "That is... quite remarkable, Potter." The man shifted in his seat and crossed his ankle over his knee. "So you stick to inanimate objects then?"

Harry nodded and smirked. He patted the arm of his chair. "Sometimes I like to remind Albus by disregarding his wards. Though I don't think it startles him as much as it used to."

"Can you Apparate inside Hogwarts?"

He gave the professor a shocked look. "Why, Professor. Haven't you ever read _Hogwarts: A history?_ It clearly states in there that one cannot Apparate or Disapparate within the grounds of Hogwarts."

"And yet you were always one to disregard the rules, Potter."

Harry shrugged and took a sip of his tea. "Well you know. Savior of the Wizarding world. Master of Death. Rule breaker Extraordinaire. Mr. July in the Heroes of the Wizarding World pin-up calendar."

Snape snorted, "And the definition of arrogance."

Harry chuckled. "No. Just resigned."


	4. Playing Around

"Show me your arm."

Severus watched the man across from him carefully. The blonde head slowly turned from staring into the fire. Grey eyes glistened with mirth. "I wondered when you would ask." Severus raised an eyebrow. "He does me the courtesy of informing me of those he has told. In case someone were to become suspicious and try to trick answers from me." The man bent his arm and unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt and began rolling the sleeve up. "How are things between you and The Chosen One going, by the way?"

Severus glared at Draco Malfoy. "There are no 'things' between Potter and me."

Draco's eyes glittered with humor. "Oh? Is that so? Three dates and still no spark?"

He held his arm out and Severus grabbed it roughly with a snarl. He examined the white skin, turning it to shine the light at different angles. He didn't need to compare it to his own Marked forearm, he'd seen the darkened skin just that morning as he'd… taken a shower. "It's completely gone."

Draco pulled his arm back and rolled the sleeve back down. "Amazing, isn't it? I actually watched it disappear. It was like one of those muggle time-lapse videos. You know, where you watch the flower grow from a seedling to a full bloom and then wither and die all within a two minute time frame?"

Severus looked up at him as he settled back against the chair. "Is that how long it took? Two minutes."

Draco snorted as he took a sip of his after-dinner cognac. "I wish. No, it took about thirty minutes." He shivered at the memory. "It felt- odd, you know. Invasive. Like Potter was reaching into my soul. Worse than _Legilimency_ , at least with that I knew I could block it. This," he shook his head, "it was, well, I guess it must have been what Potter went through when the Dark Lord invaded his thoughts."

Severus didn't think so. He remembered when Potter had "read" his magic. It had been intimate. The feel of Potter's magic blending with his, like fingers sliding through the strands of his hair, soft, seductive, filling him with lust, the overwhelming need to press his body to Potter's. To have Potter invading him in other ways. He felt his jeans tighten at the memory and fought to focus on Draco.

Draco pulled himself from his own memory and took another sip. "Having something there that doesn't belong. Like a rock in your shoe or a splinter, poking you, irritating the hell out of you. At least at first. Until he decided he could extricate the link. Then it hurt like hell." Snape's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, maybe not that bad. It was like having your nose broken in reverse. First there's this dull ache, a reminder that you've been hurt. Then it slowly intensifies, gets stronger as the dark magic is pulled out. When it finally releases from your own magic it's like the initial break. Shocking and painful as hell." Draco rubbed at his arm as if remembering the pain. "At least for me it was. The more entwined it is the more it hurts. When Father tried it, Potter barely separated the dark magic from his before he was screaming in pain. He said it was worse than the _Cruciatus_." Severus flinched at the memory of that particular curse. "Potter refused to try again. Said the dark magic was too ingrained in Father's own magic." Draco took another sip. "What did he say about yours?"

Severus looked up in mild surprise. "Who says I let him read me?"

Draco snorted. "I know you, Snape."

Severus took a sip of his own cognac. "He said I have lines of grey because I had fought against the Dark Mark for so long but it too was not removable."

"Would you allow him to try if it were?"

Severus thought about it. Did it matter at this point? He'd had the Mark for nearly two-thirds of his life, the Dark Lord had been gone for ten years. His status as ex-Death Eater had not impacted his business. But at the same time to have that stain erased from his life. To never have to see the shadow of his past mistakes every time he didn't have a shirt on. Would it matter? Even if Potter was able to make the visible reminder of his Mark disappear would he still see it with his mind's eye every time he looked? And what would it take for the man to remove it? Draco had described Potter's intrusiveness like an irritation, but that wasn't how it had felt to Severus. He had been wanking to fantasies of that brief encounter for months now. To have the man dig deep into his magic, prodding at his innermost core, sifting through his magic, would he be able to withstand the raw need it was sure to unleash? He shook his head. It didn't matter. Potter had said it wasn't possible. No, he had said he _wouldn't_ do it. "It doesn't matter," he finally spoke out loud. "Potter won't even attempt it after your father. He's already said as much."

Draco nodded. "It's why I had to sign the contract. He doesn't want people knowing he can do it and coming to him. It was horrible watching Father recover, and Potter hadn't even separated the magic." Draco frowned at the memory and drank down the last of his cognac. They sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. "So when are you planning on seeing Potter again?"

Severus glanced over at him and sneered. "I do not _plan_ to see Potter ever again. But, unfortunately, the British magical community is rather small and I imagine we will eventually run into each other at some point."

Draco smirked. "Looking forward to that, I bet."

Severus snarled at him. "What are you implying, Draco?"

The younger man shrugged. "Only that you do not seem as distraught as one would think you should be upon finding yourself on dates with the son of your sworn enemy. A man, if I may point out, that you tormented throughout his adolescence."

"No, you may not. And might _I_ point out that it was my right to torment the boy as it was my job to keep him alive?" Severus finished off his own glass and sat it down. "And they were _not_ dates."

Draco snickered. "Drinks, dinner, and a lunch. Sounds like dates to me."

"It was an accidental meeting in a social situation that just happened to be geared towards single homosexual males. A _friendly_ dinner between mutual acquaintances who wished to put past animosities behind them."

"I'm sure you'd like to put _something_ behind you," Draco mumbled and Severus glared at him.

"And lunch at a mutual friend's abode," Severus added over Draco's comment.

"Who just happened to have to leave? And you both stayed to talk. For an hour," Draco added.

Actually it had been well over an hour before Potter's snake had gotten bored and wished to be taken to its new home. Or that is what the man had interpreted for Severus after what seemed like a heated discussion between Potter and the snake and a lot of head shaking. Severus had only seen Potter a handful of times since then. Once in Diagon Alley as Potter had led a blue haired boy and red headed toddler out of Weasley's followed by a very pregnant Granger. He'd looked young and carefree. The wind blowing his already messy hair as if to wave to the masses of onlookers. Potter had ignored them all except a small child who had run up holding a toy snitch asking for an autograph. Potter had happily signed it and put a protection spell around it before handing it back to the boy. The mother, blushing furiously had thanked Potter profusely as she pulled the boy back. He, Granger and the children had moved down the street, ignoring the gaggle of preening pre-teen witches, oops, no that one was a wizard. Severus had thought the man hadn't seen him, but as he pulled the door open to Fortescue's and Granger had herded the children inside, Potter had looked straight at him and winked. Severus had quickly turned away and stepped inside the Menagerie. He'd seen the man one evening from the window of his shop. It was well past closing time but he'd been brewing an extremely difficult potion so had let his clerk close up and go home. Severus had been shelving the finished vials and looked out the window of his shop to see the long line of people waiting to get in the club a few doors down. He'd forgotten it was Friday. He ducked back down behind the row of shelves and listened to the mindless chatter of the waiting patrons.

"Oh my god, Tina. Is that Harry Potter?" Severus almost jumped up at the girl's excited exclamation.

"Fuck me. It is. God he's hot," "Tina" replied.

"Too bad he's gay," a man beside them answered.

"You gonna try for him tonight, Todd?" "Tina" asked.

"I wouldn't mind getting on my knees for a piece of that. Oh fuck, he's wearing muggle clothes. Damn those jeans are tight." Severus bit back a moan at the memory of Potter in his muggle jeans.

"I heard he's hung like a horse." Damn his ears for not checking to make sure Melody had taken her listening charms off the windows. The nosy clerk was always casting the damn charm to listen to the gossip of passing customers.

"I don't care how he's hung," the first girl said, "Who's that guy with him?" Severus's stomach burned in anger. Or was that jealousy?

"Which one? The blonde is that Neville Longbottom fellow, and the red head is Ronald Weasley, I think."

"You idiot," Todd said, "Ronald is an auror, he's much buffer than that. Haven't you seen my calendar? I think that's some guy they went to school with. Sigmund. Simon. Something like that."

"I'm talking about the dark skinned one with his arm around Harry." Severus's teeth grated and he wasn't sure if it was her casual use of Potter's first name or that some man had his arm around Potter.

"Ohmygod," one of the girls squealed. "They're looking over here."

"Fuck me," Todd gasped. "Fuck, Tina. Do I look okay. They're heading this way."

Severus's snort matched one of the girl's. "You better hope he's into twinks, Todd, 'cause that's the only way you'll get him."

"I don’t care," the man said, "as long as I get him."

"Hush."

"Hey, there," Already worked up from the overheard conversation, Severus shivered as the soft voice floated through the window. Three breathless "hellos" answered back and Severus rolled his eyes. "I'm Harry," he continued silkily, "and these are my friends Neville, Seamus, and Anjib." Severus tried to remember where he had heard the name before.

"Hi, I'm Todd." Severus could almost see Potter's disdainful look as he eyed the man.

He waited for several silent seconds before he spoke. "Todd, would you care to introduce your friends?"

Severus smirked at the cold tone. "Oh, yeah. This is Tina and Amanda."

"Hello, ladies." They giggled and Severus rolled his eyes. "I was wondering if you could help me out. Are either of you familiar with London?"

"Oh yes" "Absolutely."

"Excellent. My friend Anjib here has had a little too much to drink and can't seem to remember where his hotel is. He's visiting from Egypt." Severus remembered where he'd heard the name now. "The problem is, I'm not ready to call it a night and he needs an escort to his hotel. Would either of you be willing to help?"

"I am not drunk, Harry," a deep voice said.

"Then why are you leaning on me?"

"You tripped me and I sprained my ankle."

"I'm training to be a Healer," the one that had spotted the foreigner first said a little too excitedly.

"Excellent," Severus could hear the smile in Potter's voice. "Even better. Do you think you can handle my friend here?" Even Severus could hear the double entendre in Potter's voice. "You might need a little help from your friend here, he's quite a large fellow."

"What do you think, Tina? Do you think we could both take care of him?"

"I'm bloody willing to try."

"Well, then, ladies," the deep voice spoke again, "Do either of you happen to know the way to the Corinthia Hotel?"

"If not, we'll find a bloody cab," Tina said.

There was deep laughter as, Severus assumed, the near-future ménage headed off. "Don't tell Ron what I did to his brother's friend," Potter chuckled.

"Bloody hell, Harry. Bill is going to kill you," Came Finnigan's soft brogue.

"Eh, I've seen Anjib work. I'm sure a couple of witches won't be a problem. Sorry about your friends there, mate."

"At least they got what they came for and didn't even have to pay the cover charge," Todd said optimistically. "And you?"

"What?" Potter said, sounding distracted.

"Did you get what you came for?" Todd asked in what Severus assumed was supposed to be a seductive voice.

"Is this an Apothecary?" Bloody hell.

"Um, yeah."

"Hey, I think this is Professor Snape's place," Longbottom finally spoke for the first time.

"Snape," Todd snarled. "That arsehole?"

There was a thump and Severus jumped and wondered if he should check his window. "That _arsehole_ is responsible for us winning the war. He's a better man than you'll ever be, you trumped up twink."

"Harry," Longbottom said in an oddly soft voice. "Harry, let the boy go. He's too young to understand. You were only what? First? Second year during the war? You remember what Snape was like in those classes. That's it. I think you'd better go find another club."

"You alright mate?" Finnigan asked cautiously. It was quiet and Severus wondered if they had left.

"Do you think he's still in there?"

Severus started at the soft inquiry. "Nah, Mate. Shops been closed for hours."

Potter snorted. "Right, because Snape never brewed in his off time. I bet he's in there."

"Come on, Harry. It's getting late. Let's go."

Severus slid across the floor, hidden from view by the shelves, and made his way back into his lab. By the time he finished cleaning they would be long gone. He put the cauldron on to soak and proceeded to put the unused ingredients away and clean his stirring utensils. By the time he was ready to clean the cauldron the soaking had done most of the job and he was able to scrub it out quickly. Satisfied everything was thoroughly cleaned, he lit his wand with a _Lumos_ and turned off the lamps. He locked his lab up and made his way through the dark storefront. He stepped out into the warm night air and warded the door against intruders for the night.

"I was a spy for half my life, Potter. Did you think I wouldn't notice you?" He turned to see the man step from the shadows of the nearby shop.

"I wasn't hiding, Professor. I was waiting."

Severus snorted and _Noxed_ his wand. "For what? Meeting someone?"

"I was waiting for you. I knew you hadn't left yet."

Severus rolled his eyes and began walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. Potter followed. "And what made you so sure I had not left?"

"I can feel your magic, Professor," Potter said in a voice that sent shivers down Severus's spine. "Ever since that day in Albus's office, I know your magic. It's like I can feel you. Like it calls to me. Do you feel it too?"

Yes. "No." Yes, he felt it. It was like getting a taste of something wonderful and then told you couldn't have any more. He opened the doorway to the pub and turned to Potter, he flinched at the alcohol an the man's breath. "Go home, Potter. You're drunk."

Potter smiled smugly, "Nah. I know when I've had enough, Professor. But I'll let you go." The man leaned forward until his mouth was beside Severus's ear, his breath hot on Severus's neck. "I know where to find you now. Sweet dreams, Severus."

Potter turned and disappeared down the Alley. Even a shower hadn't helped Severus that night. And Potter had returned, Severus knew it. Even if he'd only seen the man a handful of times, there were times he just _knew_ Potter was nearby, had been in his shop.

"Here." Severus pulled his gaze away from the roaring fire and looked over at Draco's outstretched hand. He took the strip of paper and glared at it. Draco sighed. "It's a ticket to a play. It was a gift but I'm not going to be able to make it. Astoria's parent's anniversary is that day and I was informed I had to be there."

Severus read the date on the ticket and nodded. "I have no plans that evening. It will be nice to relax at the theatre. I have not seen this play yet."

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I remember you saying something about it when it first premiered when I got the tickets."

Severus looked at the ticket in his hand and flipped it over, not sure what he was expecting. "Tickets?"

Draco waved his hand. "The man gave me several. Not for the same play, but I'm thinking I might try to make one of the others. Enjoy. It's for the last week in August, and I know you'll be ready for a break after all the back to school shoppers."

Severus nodded. The last weekend of the summer was always the worst with the hurried hustle and bustle of school purchases. Thankfully his was not one of the required shops for school supplies, but it usually brought in extra shoppers who had waited until that day to purchase their potions.

"Thank you, Draco. I am sure I will enjoy the show."

"I just wish I could be there to see it," Draco said with an odd smile.

 

Severus almost didn't go. The weekend had been especially busy and he had spent the last three days brewing like mad to restock his shelves and fill the owl orders. But seeing the ticket stuck to the cold box with a minor sticking charm he decided to indulge. It had been years since he'd treated himself to a play and he _had_ been particularly interested in this one. He took a quick shower and dressed in his finer muggle clothes. The play wasn't at one of the finer London playhouses but he still enjoyed the opportunity to wear the dark suit. He pulled the charcoal grey jacket over the black shirt and buttoned the two buttons before slipping on the black patent shoes. He pulled his freshly washed hair back and secured it with a leather thong. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised at how nice he looked. He took a deep breath, feeling the confidence rush through him. He almost wished Potter could see him now. He shook the thought from his head and _Accioed_ the ticket and slipped it into one of the jacket pockets before heading out of his flat to catch a cab.  


The cab pulled up to the theatre and Severus stepped out into the cool night and made his way through the doors. He traded his ticket stub for a playbill and made his way to his assigned seat. He settled in and was happy to note that the seat was at an excellent vantage point. He wouldn’t have to strain to hear the actors if they enunciated clearly and he wouldn’t have a crick in his neck by the end of the night either. He flipped open his playbill and read through the information. He vaguely registered the commotion at the end of the aisle as another patron made their way to their seat. He felt someone settle into the seat beside him and automatically moved his arm from the armrest to give the person more room.

“Hello, Professor.”

Severus’s heart thudded in his chest and he closed his eyes for a second before slowly turning to face the man. “Draco,” Severus said on an irritated sigh.

Potter furrowed his brow in concern. “No, Professor. I’m Harry. But you usually call me Potter.”

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. “I simply meant, that I am sure Draco set this up.”

Potter beamed at him. “Oh, no doubt about that. But I won’t complain too much. I’ve been dying to see this play in English since I heard they were putting it on here.”

Severus perked up at Potter’s words. “In English?”

The man nodded as he flipped open his playbill and tapped at something on the first page. Severus looked down to see what the man was pointing at but his attention was focused on the slender fingers, remembering the way they had felt in Severus’s hand the two times he had shook Potter’s hand. Wondering how they would feel against his skin, sliding along his body, threading through his hair, yanking his head back so the man could press warm lips to his throat- “It was originally in French.” Potter’s words pulled Severus from his fantasy and he surreptitiously moved his own playbill to cover his reaction to the man. “I think I saw it four times while I was Europe. I think it’s brilliant. Have you seen it, Professor?”

Severus shook his head. “No. I have not had the pleasure.”

Potter beamed at him, “Ah. Then I won’t spoil anything for you.”

“I appreciate that,” Severus said as he turned to face the stage, knowing they still had a good quarter hour before the play started. Thankfully, Potter turned to face the front as well, not saying anything else for the moment. Severus did not expect it to last. Except, when he did start talking again, it was to the woman on his other side. Severus paid little attention to the words the man said but let his dulcet tone wash over him. When the lights finally dimmed, Potter turned back around in his seat, his shoulder brushing against Severus’s.

“Sorry, Severus,” Potter muttered as he got settled and Severus had to move his playbill back in his lap as the silken word.

During the play he was aware of every movement, every sigh, every mumble Potter made. The man’s cologne seemed to waft towards Severus, engulfing his senses, surrounding him. He stayed half hard the entire first half of the play and breathed a silent sigh of relief when the lights came up for intermission. They silently made their way out to the aisle, Severus tense, waiting for Potter to speak. But he didn’t and Severus made it to the loo without the man saying one word to him. It made him on edge. He _wanted_ Potter to talk. Wanted to know the man’s impressions of the play, if it was better in English or its original French. Severus shook his head at the irrational thoughts in his head. He quickly took care of his business and washed his hands, leaving the stall open for the next gentleman. He stepped out of the bathroom and headed back to the auditorium.

“Are you enjoying the play, Professor?”

Severus’s heart jumped and he chalked it up to being deep in thought and missing Potter’s arrival. “It is quite enjoyable. I am glad I was given the opportunity to see it, despite the questionable intent of the gift.”

Potter chuckled as they came to a near standstill while waiting to reenter the auditorium. Severus took the opportunity to take in Potter’s attire. It was a suit much like his own with black slacks, white button down and a dark blue jacket that seemed molded to his skin. In fact the entire suit seemed to be painted on, it hugged his curves deliciously, showing off his assets.

“Damn, Potter, clothes tight enough? Where do you keep your wand?”

Severus refused to allow the blush at his rash words. Potter smiled and they stepped into the auditorium. Severus made his way down to their row and slid in. He tensed as he felt a hand at his waist and Potter’s warm breath ghosted across his neck. “In my pants, Professor. I _always_ keep my wand in my pants.”

Severus pulled from the man’s light grip and sat down abruptly, placing his playbill in his lap. Harry sat down beside him and opened his own playbill. “I think the actress that plays Nadine is much better than the lady that played the role in Paris. This one has so much more emotion in her scenes with Davíd.”

Grateful for the change in topic, Severus allowed him to lead the conversation until the lights began to fade. Just before the curtains rose he remembered a question he had for the younger man.

“Potter.”

Green eyes turned to look at him. "Yes, Professor.”

“Did you get the job?”

Potter beamed at him. “Of course,.”

Severus nodded. “Congratulations. Professor.”


	5. The Consequences of Missing Tea with the Deputy Head of the DMLE

Harry sat at the breakfast table untying the missive from Pig’s leg, wondering what Hermione wanted now. She had been after him to stop by for tea for weeks now, but he’d been too busy settling into his new job and getting into a routine. He heard the staff entrance door open and several teachers walked in as he fed the owl a piece of bacon and stuffed the note in his robe pocket. The cheery Herbology professor sat down beside him and the miserable looking Potion’s professor slid into the seat on the other side of Neville. Harry vaguely heard Albus muttering to someone behind them.

“Morning, Nev. Blaise,” Harry said cheerily.

“Morning, Harry,” Neville returned brightly.

“Shh,” Blaise begged.

Harry chuckled at the man. “I told you to take that potion, Blaise.”

The Slytherin glared at him over the top of his morning tea. “I wouldn’t need it if you hadn’t kept me up half the night.”

“I tried to call quits at midnight,” Harry defended. “You’re the one that wouldn’t let it go.”

Blaise narrowed his eyes at him and Neville gaped. “With that hand, Harry? You can’t play that way and not expect retaliation. Blaise had every right to get his own back.”

Harry shrugged. “I told him we could always try again tonight but he was the one that insisted we finish. What can I say, he’s greedy.”

“Well, you broke me,” Neville admitted. “I’m usually good for several rounds, but I was wiped after the fifth, last night.”

Blaise shook his head and took a careful sip of his tea. “I don’t know how you guys do it all the time. I’m out tonight.”

Harry reached behind Neville and patted Blaise sympathetically on the shoulder. “Alright, Blaise. I’ll stay in my own room tonight and let you get some rest. I have papers to grade anyway. Unless you want to come over and play, Neville?”

“Since when do professors have time to play?” A familiar voice sneered behind Harry. His heart leapt as he turned to see his old Potion’s professor.

He beamed at the man as he stood. “Professor. I haven’t seen you since the theatre. How are you doing?”

“I am well, Potter,” Harry tried to smile at the man but there was something cold in his voice, well, colder than usual. Snape turned to Blaise. “Mr. Zabini.”

Blaise raised his head from his cup. “Ah, Snape. Forgot you were coming by today. I’ll go get that Mandrake juice for you.”

“Grab a Pepper-up,” Harry told the man. “You look like crap.”

“Perhaps he should not spend school nights in improper pursuits.”

Harry rolled his eyes as Blaise made his way out of the Great Hall. “Nothing wrong with a little card game, Snape,” Albus said as he settled into his chair, two seats down from Harry.

Snape’s eyes went from Harry to Albus and back to Harry. Something flashed in the dark orbs and the man seemed to relax slightly. “Improper or not, he should be more mindful of the time when he has classes in the morning.”

“My fault, really,” Harry volunteered. “I tried to end the game after I’d taken the majority of his Galleons with a royal flush.”

Snape’s eyebrow went up. “Poker, Potter?”

Harry shrugged. “Not much to do at night on a Texas ranch, Professor. Learned how to play Hold ‘Em real quick.”

“Hmm.” But Harry noticed the man’s tone had warmed up slightly. What had he thought they were talking about? Harry thought back over the conversation and blushed at what the words, taken out of context, could mean. Wait. Did that mean Snape had been jealous? He turned to say something to the man but Snape was already deep in conversation with Filius. Harry sat back down and pulled out the missive from Hermione. It seemed she had grown tired of waiting for him to come visit and would be in Hogsmeade Friday afternoon and expected tea with him as she knew he had no afternoon classes that day. He shrugged and tucked the note back in his pocket. Pig was long gone, so obviously she hadn’t been expecting a response.

“You in trouble, Harry?”

Harry looked up at Neville’s words and nodded. “Yes. It seems I have taken too long to visit a certain future Minister of Magic and she is resorting to house calls.”

“Too bad I’m busy that day, Mate. I’d love to be there for you.”

Harry shot Neville a disbelieving look. “You don’t even know what day she’s coming over.” Neville shrugged. “Traitor,” Harry accused.

Neville nodded. “Most likely.”

Minerva’s chair was moved and Harry turned to say good morning but paused when he saw Snape sitting down. He glared accusingly at Harry. “If I have to wait on Zabini because he is too tired to act speedily because of you, then you will suffer my company.”

Harry shrugged, “I don’t mind.” He smiled slyly at the man. “So, we’ve had dinner, lunch, and now breakfast. All that’s missing is dessert,” he purred.

The man blinked slowly before answering. “I believe dessert was included with dinner, Potter.”

“Mmm,” Harry said, biting into a slice of bacon and “accidentally” rubbing his knee against Snape’s leg. “Perhaps we should consider… a midnight snack, then.”

Snape stood quickly, “Zabini. It’s about time. What happened, did you go by way of Gryffindor tower?”

Harry smiled to himself as the ex-professor quickly made his way out of the Great Hall and Hogwarts. “I think I’m wearing him down,” Harry whispered to Neville.

Blaise snorted from his teacup.

 

“Professor?”

Harry had to restrain himself from looking around. Even after two months he still found it hard to remember the students were talking to him. He looked up at the girl who had her hand in the air and bit back a grin.

“Yes, Ms. Harwood?” He had a hard time not calling her Hermione.

“I don’t understand why we are only _reading_ about these defense techniques. Wouldn’t it be better to actually practice them?”

“But as long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there should be no reason why you should not be able to perform the countercurses and such under controlled conditions,” Harry answered smugly, his hand twitching at the memory. Another hand went up. “Yes, Mr. Robinson.”

“But isn’t the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts to learn the spells well enough so that we can perform them under conditions that _aren’t_ controlled?” Harry almost jumped for joy.

Harry kept his face impassive. “Are you questioning my teaching methods, Mr. Robinson?”

The Gryffindor scrunched up his nose. “Well, yes, sir.” Several students gasped. Harry held up a hand to silence them.

“Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Robinson, Ms. Harwood. Very good.” Students blinked owlishly at him. “Why do you suppose it is good to question those in charge?” A tentative hand went up. “Ms. Asten?”

“Because sometimes those in authority aren’t always looking out for our best interest.”

He nodded to the fifth year.”But sir,” Ms. Harwood, fell into his trap. “Aren’t people put in positions of authority because we may not know what is best for us?” **  
**

“Who knows what a Patronus is?” He asked. Several hands shot up. “Who thinks they can create one?” All hands went down. “Why not? I created a fully formed Patronus when I was thirteen.”

“But, sir,” one of the Hufflepuff boys spoke up, “you’re, well, you’re you.”

Harry smiled weakly. “Yes, Mr. Fellows. I am me. Very good.” Several students chuckled. “But I was two years younger than you are. Do you know why I had to learn how to create a Patronus when I was so young? Ms. Harwood,” he called on the girl as her hand shot up.

“Because the Dementors placed on the school grounds tried to attack you.”

Harry nodded. “Mmm. And who do you suppose put those Dementors on school grounds, Ms. Harwood?”

She blinked slowly at him. “The Ministry.”

“And you think the Ministry was thinking of the students’ best interest? Or the capture of a supposed mass murderer they could have just as easily caught with several well placed aurors?”

The girl swallowed.

“Sir,” the Hufflepuff said tentatively, “but they never caught Mr. Black, did they?”

Harry smiled smugly. “No, Mr. Fellows they did not.”

“Professor,” A Gryffindor, Robinson, called from the back, “Is it true he was an Animagis?”

Harry ignored the question, “For Tuesday, I want five of your happiest memories. Don’t worry, I won’t actually read the essay, but I will check to make sure it is done. So if your happiest memory was that time you got the Slytherin alone in the broom closet, it can stay between you two.” Several students snickered and turned to poke at Robinson who was blushing fiercely. “Or not,” Harry said with a wink to the boy. “We will begin practicing the Patronus spell next week, so you really need to think about it. Don’t worry about what anyone else is writing about. Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You are dismissed.” He went to sit behind his desk while the students gathered up their books and bags. He looked up, “Ms. Harwood, please stay behind.” She got a look on her face that he had seen many times on his best friend. She sat at her desk, waiting nervously as the rest of the students filed out, many of her friend’s giving her sympathetic looks. He finally looked up when the last student left. “Do you have a class, Ms. Harwood?” He motioned for her to come forward and she moved to stand in front of his desk.

She shook her head, “No, sir. Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” he answered her simply. “Let me ask you this, Ms. Harwood. Do you know the difference between following the rules and doing what’s right?”

She blinked at him. “Well, following the rules _is_ doing what’s right, Sir.”

“Is it, Ms. Harwood? You remind me of someone I went to school with, so when I ask you this I mean no disrespect **.** You are muggle born correct?” She nodded. “Do you know what the D.A. is?” She shook her head. “You look like the kind of person that doesn’t mind a little extra homework,” her eyes lit up and he almost rolled his eyes at the Hermione-like expression. “I want you to find out what the D.A is, why they were formed, and what they accomplished. I will tell you only this, the information can only be found in anything written after 1990.”

“Is it something you were involved in, Professor?”

“I do not expect an essay, perhaps just an outline with bullet points. Something simple. Have it to me before you leave for Christmas holidays.”

She gaped at the six week time frame, “Yes, Professor.”

There was a sharp rap on his door and it was pushed open. He smiled at the stern woman standing there. Her eyes went from Harry to the girl standing in front of his desk. “Even if she were a Slytherin, her detention will have to wait. You are not getting out of this, Harry James.”

Harry sighed. “Ms. Harwood, may I introduce you to our Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Mrs. Granger-Weasley?”

The girl gaped at Hermione. “You’re my hero. Oh, can I have your autograph? Please?”

Harry laughed at the bemused expression on his friend’s face. “Tell you what, Ms. Harwood. When you complete that extra assignment, I will have Mrs. Granger-Weasley grade it personally and sign it for you.”

“Oh! Oh, thank you, sir. I promise, Ma’am, it’ll be absolutely perfect. Oh, I have to go write my mum. Oh, can I go sir?”

Harry laughed and waved her off. The girl grabbed her bag and raced from the room. Hermione glared at him. “What did you get me into now, Harry?”

Harry stood and crossed over to wrap her in a hug. “Tea first.” He led her to his office and called for Kreacher to bring the tea tray. She poured for them and settled back. “We discussed why it may not be a good idea to put your complete faith in the people who have authority over us. I assigned her a bit of extra credit regarding the D.A.” Hermione hummed and sipped her tea. “How are Ron and the kids?”

“Doing well, which you would know if you ever came by.”

“Hermione,” he warned her.

She smiled at him. “I’m teasing. Molly sends her love.”

They spent the next hour talking about the family and their respective jobs. Harry was indeed glad he had taken Albus up on his offer as he felt greatly rewarded by most of the students and the relationships he was building with the other professors. He thought Hermione was getting antsy to leave when she started squirming, so was taken by surprise at her next words.

“The reason I’ve been trying to have tea with you is, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

He placed his cup on the table. “Is everything okay, ‘Mione?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, everything’s great, Harry. It’s just, well… there’s this guy at work. Oh don’t look at me like that, Harry. I would never do that to Ron.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly. “You just caught me off guard. Go ahead. This guy that works for you.”

“Actually, He doesn’t really work for the Ministry, he’s more of a consultant. But we have this huge case the DMLE is working on so he’s been spending quite a bit of time up there. Anyway, he’s gay and-“

“No.” He shook his head. “Just because he’s gay does not mean he’s my type.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that, Harry. I’m not an idiot. But I have been working closely with him and I think you will really like him. He’s got that odd sense of humor you like, and he’s older, which we both know you prefer.” Harry blushed at the memory of Snape.

“I don’t know, Hermione. A blind date?”

“Yes. Come on, Harry. Please. He’s asked about you, actually that’s what made me think of you.”

Harry gave her a skeptical look and shook his head. “Hermione, I don’t need another glory hound.”

She shook her head. “No, he’s not like that, Harry. He values his privacy just as much as you do. Please, Harry. Look, if this doesn’t work out, I promise not to bring it up for, like, six months.”

He eyed her. “That sure of it, huh?”

She nodded. “I think you’ll really like him if you just give him a shot.”

Harry thought about it. It wasn’t as if Hermione didn’t know him well enough to find him someone he might be compatible with. In fact, out of everyone he knew, she was probably the most qualified. And maybe, if Severus saw that Harry Potter wasn’t waiting around for him to decide what he wanted, the man might finally make a move. He sighed and Hermione beamed at him before he even said the words.

“Okay, Hermione.”

 

Harry stepped out of the cab and tugged down the sleeves of his forest green button down and straightened the creases from his black slacks. Hermione had allowed him to pick the restaurant so he'd gone with one of his favorite muggle steak houses. He was comfortable there and it usually hosted a nice, quiet atmosphere that was conducive for intimate conversations. He pressed a hand to his stomach, he hadn't been this nervous since he was supposed to meet his mysterious Steven. Harry took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts of Severus from his mind. He would make the effort to get to know this man Hermione had insisted was perfect for him. She had refused to tell him anything more about the man, including his name, and had simply told him to make the reservations in his name and the man would find him. At least the man had agreed to meet in Muggle London, He would hate to see how many people would claim to be his date if they had met in Diagon Alley.

Harry made his way over to the hostess stand and smiled warmly at the blonde. "Name, please."

"Harry Potter."

She looked down at her list and smiled brightly at him. "Right this way, Mr. Potter. Your guest has already arrived."

Harry really shouldn't have been surprised. If the man was on friendly terms with Hermione he had probably been here a good five minutes. He took in the low-lit, quiet atmosphere of the restaurant as the hostess made her way to a back table. Harry's steps faltered when his eyes fell on a tall figure sitting by himself at one of the candle lit tables. His heart sped up at the sight of the man in a black turtleneck and hair tied back revealing his large patrician nose and slender neck. Harry gathered his Gryffindor courage and hoped the man wouldn't kill Hermione when he realized who she had set him up with. The man had his head turned away, studying the other patrons, so had not noticed their approach. Harry licked his lips and took a deep breath.

"It seems fate, or our friends, are determined to see us together."

Snape turned his head slowly, his dark eyes sliding down Harry's body, sending waves of anticipation down his spine. "Indubitably." Harry stood there, unsure if the man would wish to continue with the evenings plans. As if sensing his inner turmoil, Snape raised an eyebrow and pointed to the chair across from him. "Well, you are here, might as well have a seat."

Harry nodded and slid into the seat across from Snape. He took a nervous sip of the ice water as the hostess implored them to have a nice evening and slipped away.

"What did she say to get you here?" Harry asked as he unfolded the napkin and placed it in his lap.

Snape looked over at him, expressionless. "Who?"

Of course the man would be difficult. "Hermione. What did she say to convince you to go on a blind date?"

Snape was quiet for a minute and Harry glanced nervously around. He took another sip of his water and ran his finger down the side of the glass drawing a line in the condensation. "She didn't say anything. I asked," the man said softly.

Harry closed his eyes for a second, wondering what the bloody hell was going on. "Look, Snape-"

"You called me Severus at the theatre," the soft voice was not one he was used to hearing from the man and it unsettled Harry. He swallowed around the nervous lump in his throat and wiped the tip of his wet finger on the tablecloth. He clenched his hand against the table and took a deep breath, trying to calm the thoughts swirling in his head.

"Severus, I don't know what you are playing at-"

A warm hand enveloped Harry's and he paused, looking down at where Sn- Severus's hand rested atop his own. The nervous fluttering of his fingers eased in the warmth of Severus's. One long thumb slid over Harry's wrist. He looked up into cautious black eyes."I'm not playing at anything. Look, Harry… May I call you Harry?"

Harry's heart fluttered at the sound of his name on Severus's lips. "God yes," he whispered breathlessly.

Severus gave him a soft smile. "You intrigue me, Harry. That first meeting-"

"Date," Harry corrected him.

Severus looked menacingly at him, but with no real malice. " _Meeting_ , it was the first time I think I ever actually _looked_ at you. You weren't that awkward boy fighting for the lives of his friends and fumbling through my classes anymore. You were a man. And I'll admit that scared me a little bit." Severus glanced down at their hands as if trying to find the right words. He looked back up into Harry's eyes."I had never looked at a former student that way. It was- daunting. And you have to admit, Steven and Evan got along rather well." Severus cast a timorous smile at him.

Harry smiled reassuringly back. "Yes, they- _we_ did." He felt his confidence begin to return and flipped his hand so he could slide his thumb over Severus's hand, returning the embrace. "Albus moved our tea up. We usually have- had tea once a month to get caught up, but he had owled me the week before. I wondered at the time why it was so important for him to see me _that_ day. When I thought about it later, there was no real reason his offer couldn't have waited a few days. Had you happened to mention our- meetings, to him?"

Severus nodded. "I may have said something about a bad knut." Harry smiled at the man and looked up as a shadow fell across the table. "Ms. Granger was kind enough to tell me what you liked, so I took the liberty of ordering for you. I figured it was my turn."

Harry beamed at him as the waiter placed his burden on the table and poured a nice red wine to go with the steaks. Harry reluctantly slid his hand from Severus's. "It looks perfect. Thank you."

They took several bites before Severus spoke again. "And Draco? Did you mention our run-ins to him?"

Harry chewed on the delicious steak and let the juices settle around his tongue before swallowing. "He mentioned the bet and I might have said I'd seen you there."

"Did you know I was going to be at the play?" Severus said as he sipped at his wine.

Harry shook his head. "No, I received an owl about a week before with a note that said something like congratulations, have one last night of freedom on me. I wasn't even given the chance to decline."

Severus took a sip of his wine. "I almost didn't go."

Harry looked up suddenly and his hand shot across the table to wrap around Severus's wrist. Severus looked up at him. "I'm glad you did. The play was much better, knowing we were there together. I mean, that you were there. Even if it wasn't _with_ me."

Severus smiled at him. "I know what you mean, Harry." Harry's stomach clenched at the use of his name. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it. "During intermission, I reluctantly found myself wishing to get your impressions of the play."

Harry beamed at him. "Do you speak French?"

Severus furrowed his brow but nodded. "I do."

"I will have to take you to see it in French. I think the dialogue flows much smoother with the melodic tones of the French."

Severus chuckled and shook his head. "I find myself constantly surprised by you, Harry Potter."

Harry's heart swelled at the compliment. "Good."

"Sometimes I still see the young man from my classroom and then you open your mouth and speak of the perfect wine for fondue and casually mention watching plays in a foreign tongue I'm sure you did not even know existed the last time you stood behind a cauldron in my classroom."

Harry felt himself blush and went back to his steak.

"You are quite enchanting when you blush like that, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath to calm his roiling blood. "God, Severus, when you speak like that I-" he shook his head. "You are not the professor I despised in my youth. But I think, by the end of the war, I already knew that. I'm glad we had time after the war to become more comfortable in our new roles before we attempted this. I think it was good for me to get out and see the world a bit."

Severus nodded. "And it was good for me to distance myself from Hogwarts, give old hurts a chance to heal. Put to rest past prejudices. I have not thought of you as James Potter's son in a very long time, Harry."

"I am glad for that. I have not thought of you as my teacher in a very long time either, Professor," Harry said the appellation in a sultry tone to indicate the endearment it was meant to be. He was satisfied as he saw the slight shiver Severus failed to suppress. "Tell me how my best friend came to set me up on a blind date with my ex-professor? You said you asked."

Severus nodded as he cut into his asparagus. "I did. Several months back, before the play, I was contacted by the Deputy Head of the DMLE-"

"Hermione."

Severus nodded with a smirk. "Yes. Ms. Granger. They were having problems attempting to verify a potion used in a series of muggle murders. She had suspected it had been altered in a way that was specific to muggles but was unable to verify how. Neither were any of the specialists she kept on hand. At that point she reached out to me, knowing how efficient I was at potions."

Harry snorted. "Efficient. Yes, you are only _merely_ adequate at potions, Severus. Which is why you have the most successful Apothecary in the British Isles. But, please, do go on about your _efficiency._ "

"Cheeky brat," Severus said into his wine glass and Harry grinned at the man. "It took us several weeks to determine how they had altered the potion and my part ended there, but Ms. Granger did inform me the perpetrator was sentenced to Azkaban. She has returned several times since then to seek my aide and we have built a tolerable professional relationship." It was Severus's turn to blush and Harry shifted in his seat as his pants tightened at the incredibly sexy picture the man made when his face flushed. "I admit to inquiring about your new job. If you enjoyed it. You always flourished in the role of authority, whether you realized it or not."

Harry took a sip of his wine to hide his own blush. "It has come to my attention that I might have a somewhat- dominant personality."

Severus smirked at him, " _Just_ your personality, Mr. Potter?"

Harry licked his dry lips, "We'll just stick with that for now, shall we, Professor?"

Severus chuckled and the conversation fell into an easy tempo, a back and forth exchange. Harry told him stories of some of his students and Severus reciprocated with anecdotes of his own as a young teacher. Harry listened when the man gave him pointers and techniques that had helped him settle in, sometimes getting lost in just listening to the man speak and watching his lips move. By the time they had finished their meal Harry was more than simply intrigued by this man. Severus insisted he pay since technically he had asked Harry out, even if it was by way of "Ms. Granger." Harry relented on the condition he pay next time. Severus simply smiled shyly.

They stepped out into the cool night air. "May I walk you home, Severus?"

"There is an Apparition point just around the corner. I live just a few blocks from The Cauldron."

"Excellent. Then I can drop you off and take the Floo to Rosmerta's."

They walked side by side until they turned the corner and passed through the barrier that marked the muggle repelling charm. "You'll have to put your arm around me," Severus said hesitantly.

"I think I can manage that," Harry said with a grin as he slid his arm around Severus's waist. Severus placed an arm around Harry's shoulder and Harry turned to face the taller man. His eyes roamed over the familiar face as he took in the dark eyes, pink cheeks, and thin lips. He brought his other hand up to cup Severus's cheek as he got lost in the dark eyes. Severus's tongue darted out to moisten his lips and Harry was lost. "Severus."

The man closed his eyes on a stuttered breath and whispered his reply. "Harry."

Harry closed the distance between their mouths and pressed his lips to Severus's. Severus's other arm circled his waist and pulled him close, their hard bodies pressing together. Harry ran his tongue over Severus's lips, asking for entrance. Severus consented, parting his lips for Harry to slide his tongue into the wet heat. His fingers slid through soft hair and he moaned his approval as he tasted the wine on Severus's tongue. Their mouths moved against each other, soft, slow, savoring the feel and taste of the other man. Harry thought he'd never had a better kiss. He loved the way Severus's tongue occasionally darted into Harry's mouth, as if unsure of its welcome, the way Severus's hands clutched at Harry's shirt and alternately spread over his back as if he couldn't decide to hold on to Harry forever or give him the opportunity to flee. These little signs of the man's insecurities made Harry love him even more. Wait! Love? Could he? Did he? Harry sighed to himself. If he didn't, it wouldn't take much.

Harry finally pulled back and ended with a small peck to the corner of Severus's lips. He smiled gently at the man he was falling for. "Let's get you home."

Severus nodded and tightened his hold on Harry before they were sucked into the void of Apparition. They landed in a hallway just outside a door marked 2B. "It's a wizarding complex so Apparating is allowed within the walls," he explained.

Harry nodded. "I had a lovely evening, Severus. I am quite enjoying this side of you." He ran a hand down Severus's arm. "I'd like to see you again, but between the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend and quidditch game I'm not free again until the holiday break."

Severus nodded, "I understand, Harry. I remember what it was like to find personal time when you are a teacher."

Harry smiled up at him. "I'll owl you and we _will_ find time to see where this goes. And perhaps, when you feel more comfortable, you will come up to the school to see me on the weekends."

Severus pressed his lips to Harry's forehead. "I like that idea, Harry. Yes, owl me and we will set up a time for our first official date."

Harry chuckled. "I wonder what it will be like to get ready for a date, knowing it's you on the other end."

"Were you disappointed?" Harry heard the uncertainty in the man's voice.

Harry pulled back to look into Severus's dark eyes. "No. Not when you sat across from me at the speed dating." He pressed a kiss to the man's jawline, just below his ear. "Not when you were Steven." Another kiss a little further down. "Not when Albus abandoned us." And another. "Not at the play." He kissed the corner of Severus's lips. "And definitely not tonight." Harry covered Severus's mouth again and this time the man didn't hesitate to open for him. Harry pressed against the lithe figure and ran his palm up and down the muscled chest, feeling the nipples pebble beneath his fingers. Harry pulled back slowly with a soft kiss to his lips. "I will owl you tomorrow." Severus nodded as Harry stepped back. "Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Harry."


	6. Pic(nic)king Up the Pieces

Severus kept his eyes on the clock, willing thoughts of Harry away. _Harry._ Severus shook his head. No. He was not going to lose another potion because his mind insisted on wondering to the man's latest letter. He kept his mind on task by repeating the next few steps in his head. Once the potion had simmered for the allotted five minutes, Severus removed it from the fire and set it to cool. He turned to his next cauldron and set about making a large batch of Calming Draught, always a big seller in the holiday season. School would be letting out soon (Severus's heart gave a happy little leap and he attempted to glare at the impertinent organ) and the parents would be in a tizzy with last minute shopping and planning. Not for the first time, he wondered if he should get Harry a present. Did one buy presents for the person they had not even gone out on an official date with but received regular love letters from? And there was no doubt that Harry's letters were of the intimate persuasion. He wrote of his travels, his students, and bits of gossip he picked up here and there (Severus remembered how the staff room was always rife with gossip). But always, somewhere tucked between the lines of broken curses and house points taken (Potter never mentioned Gryffindor losing house points) were seemingly careless words that reassured Severus Harry hadn't changed his mind. _I was thinking of that time you… Remember when Steven told Evan… Minerva keeps giving me these odd looks and asking why I have that little smile that makes her want to count the Slytherins._ There was something in the tone of Harry's words that gave Severus the idea that the man may not be completely unaware of his insecurities.

It wasn't as if Severus had never been in a relationship. He'd had plenty of lovers. Well, no, he'd had plenty of sexual partners. He knew where to find the release he needed, and that had been adequate in the past. But from the moment he'd run into Harry back in January things had been different. He had frustrated himself with his desire for Potter. Never had he looked at a former student that way. Oh, he'd noted in the past that a former student had become handsome but, as usual, it was different with Harry Potter. Almost from the moment those green eyes had widened in shock at seeing him and then narrowed flirtatiously Severus had wanted nothing more than to drop to his knees for Harry Potter. His mouth went dry at the memory of Harry's hard body pressed against him, the bulging erection that had pressed into his thigh that Harry had in no way acknowledged. Dammit, Severus had forgotten that chivalry was a Gryffindor trait. If the man had given even the slightest indication Severus would have gladly yanked him into his apartment and shown him the way to his bed. Severus shivered at the thought. He was glad that he had finally given into his curiosity and approached the topic of Harry with Granger. She hadn't seemed all that surprised at his curiosity. And almost from the very first, began hinting that Harry might be amenable to furthering their relationship. But he had been the one to suggest the "blind date" approach, wanting to see Harry's reaction for himself. He didn't want the man agreeing simply because he felt sorry for the greasy potions master. But the look of pleased surprise in Harry's eyes when Severus had seen him was encouraging, so he had let the date move forward and flow its natural course.

Severus looked down, surprised to see the Calming Draught had somehow been completed to perfection. He set it aside and went to bottle up the previous potion. His eyes went automatically to the calendar on the wall and his stomach clenched in anticipation as he mentally counted down the days until his date with Harry. He wondered if Harry would kiss him again. The man had been firm but gentle, sending Severus's mind in a whirl of want and need. Desire had laced his dreams that night as he'd dreamt of Harry laying him back and kissing him, touching him, sending waves of pleasure crashing through him. Severus shook the thoughts from his head and concentrated on ladling the potions so he could get home. He needed a shower.

 

Severus wanted to bang his head against the wall. Harry had told Severus to pick their next date and Severus had decided on and discarded at least a hundred destinations in the last two weeks. And now Harry would be here in three hours and Severus had no idea where they were going to go or what they were going to do. If it weren’t the middle of December he would take Harry to the park for a picnic. He had always loved nibbling on finger foods under the shade of a tree, warm wind blowing across his face. He thought picnics were probably the most romantic date a couple could have. And, dammit, he wanted today to be _good_ for Harry. Severus sighed and stared around his offending apartment, not quite sure _how_ it had offended him, but sure that it had. Severus walked into his kitchen and pulled open the cold box. He didn’t even have a bottle of wine to offer the man. He should run to the market, at least he could have a something to offer the man to drink after their date. And maybe, once the Gryffindor was relaxed he’d take advantage of the nearest Slytherin (Severus planned on being _very_ near Harry by this time). The truth was, if he had his way, they wouldn’t go anywhere and would just spend the day here, getting to know each other. Severus grabbed his flat keys and headed to the door. Yes a quick run to the market and- Severus looked around his apartment as inspiration struck. Yes! He hurried out the door, he only had three hours.

Severus tugged at the sleeve of his shirt as the doorbell rang. He took a calming breath and pulled the door open. His heart pounded in his chest at the site of Harry leaning casually against the wall. Harry beamed at him.

“So, Hermione tells me it is customary to bring your date flowers or chocolate or some such,  but I’m afraid I ate all the chocolate so I had to settle on flowers. Only, knowing my luck, you would berate me for killing some rare plant used in a specialized potion, so I went to Neville.” Harry pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a potted bush.

Severus gasped and took the plant. “How- Where-?”

“You like it?”

Severus looked up at the man, green eyes twinkling. “It’s wonderful, Harry. Thank you.”

“It’s a-“

“Moon rose. Yes. I recognize the leaves.” Severus realized the man was still standing in the doorway. “Oh. Come in. Please.” He stepped out of the way and Harry walked in and paused as he looked around. Severus closed the door. “I hope you don’t mind. I love the idea of picnics but it’s too cold outside and…”

Severus watched as the man took in the near empty sitting room except the large blanket laid out. There were several pillows scattered around the blanket and plates filled with all sorts of Severus’s favorite finger foods placed on one end. A bottle of Champagne sat chilling and two wine glasses waited beside the ice bucket. Harry turned to him and smiled.

“I think it’s fantastic, Severus.” Severus felt his face heat up and he crossed the room to place the Moon rose on the window sill. “I went on a picnic in Paris once,” Severus frowned, not wanting to hear about Harry dating another man, but not quite sure how to say it without sounding rude. “I had met this French witch who had inherited her grandmother’s old house and we spent a lot of time together while I un-cursed some things and helped her go through the house. We came across this old dollhouse and she thought it would be perfect for her daughter. It took some doing, but I finally got it cleaned, just in time for the little girl’s birthday. Little Marie was such a darling.” Harry smiled wistfully. “Anyway, the mum invited me to the park for the girl’s birthday picnic and it was at that time of year when the flowers are just blooming and everything literally smells of spring.”

Severus made his way over to where Harry was piling pillows on one side of the blanket and moved to sit beside him. Harry had removed his jacket and wore muggle jeans and knitted jumper. Severus watched as Harry lowered himself onto the blanket and pulled the jumper over his head to show a blue tee that fit snugly against his body. Harry tossed the jumper onto the couch and smiled at Severus.

“That’s better. You know my favorite part of the picnic?”

Severus blinked up at him, “What?”

“When Little Marie made me lie on the grass with her and look at the clouds. May I?” He pointed to the ceiling and Severus nodded, not having a clue what the man intended. A few seconds later, Severus thought he had been transported to Hogwarts. Only the ceiling didn’t show the graying skies outside but a warm blue sky filled with passing clouds. “Aah. That’s better, don’t you think?”

Severus smiled at him. “It’s wonderful, Harry.” He turned and grabbed the Champagne bottle that he had uncorked before Harry got there so the Champagne could breathe. He poured them each a glass and placed the cork back before turning to hand a glass to Harry. He turned to find Harry had already floated over several different trays and was filling two small plates with a variety of foods. Harry took the proffered glass with a smile as he returned the trays to their place.

“The choices are excellent, Severus. I don’t think I could have packed a better picnic if I had tried.”

“I just chose the things I like, Harry,” he said shyly.

Harry leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Then you have excellent taste, Severus.”

Severus felt himself blush. Harry placed the plates between them and rested an elbow on the pile of pillows. “You know what I adore about finger foods?”

Severus eyed the plates of food between them. “What?”

Harry picked up a cube of ham between two fingers. “They are excellent for feeding one’s lover, don’t you think?” Harry held the ham up to Severus and he tentatively opened his mouth, feeling foolish. Harry popped the ham in his mouth and Severus chewed the savory meat. Harry reached down and plucked another cube of ham and popped it into his mouth. He sighed happily. “Yes. You definitely have excellent taste.” Harry picked up a cube of cheese and held it out to Severus. “Is this okay?”

Severus took the cheese between his teeth and nodded before quickly leaning down to press his lips to Harry’s cheek. He sat back and Harry ran a knuckle down his cheek. “Yes. It is acceptable.”

Harry chuckled.  “I like you, Severus. I hope you know that.”

Severus picked up a small triangular cucumber sandwich and bit into it. “I should hope so, Harry. You are after all, in my flat, feeding me.”

Harry chuckled as he grabbed his own small sandwich and bit into it. They sat there for some time, nibbling on sandwiches and feeding each other as they talked and laughed.

“Have you had enough for now,” Harry asked almost an hour later. Severus looked down at his near empty plate. “I only ask, because you haven’t eaten anything in the last several minutes.”

“Oh. I suppose I have,” Severus said, realizing he was indeed full. He looked over at the pile of food they hadn’t even touched. “And we haven’t even gotten to dessert. I did so wish to try the cranberry tart.”

“The afternoon is still young, Severus. Don’t feel downhearted. Come,” Harry patted the pillows beside him,  “We haven’t even had a chance to enjoy the lovely view I provided.” He indicated the ceiling and Severus conceded his point. He nodded and Harry turned over to lay on his back and Severus joined him, reminded of the times he had done just such this with Lily. He watched Harry for several minutes as the man stared up at the passing clouds. Harry turned to smile at him, hands laced together across his chest. “What do you see?” He turned back to look up at the ceiling and Severus turned to look at the passing clouds. Harry pointed to one. “That one looks like a sheep.”

A large fluffy cloud floated across the ceiling. “Don’t be ridiculous, Harry. It is clearly a dog.”

“No it’s not. Dogs have tails. That just has a fluffy ball on its backside. So clearly it is a sheep.”

Severus rolled his eyes and pointed to a different cloud over by his front door. “There is a rabbit.”

Harry snorted. “That’s a dragon, Severus. Those are puffs of smoke, not ears.”

Severus turned to look at Harry. “Are you wearing your glasses?”

Harry turned to look at him and stuck his tongue out. “Git,” he muttered.

Severus smiled and turned back to the ceiling. “ _That’s_ a dragon.”

“Mmm. Maybe. That one looks like a ship.”

Severus snorted. “Hardly. Hey, stop that,” Severus said as a cluster of clouds began to make the clear shape of a ship.

“What? I can’t help it if the clouds agree with me.”

“They’re _your_ clouds. Stop that, Harry. I do not need Albus looking down at me from my ceiling.”

Harry laughed and the clouds that had formed the shape of Dumbledore’s face scattered. Harry rolled over onto his side to look down at Severus. “What would you like to see?” Severus’s eyes flickered to Harry’s lips as he thought he’d like to see the man kiss him but he didn’t say anything. Only his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Harry smiled. “Ah. I didn’t realize.” A hand came up and brushed through Severus’s hair. “You didn’t say anything, so I wasn’t sure.” Harry lowered himself over Severus and his heart began to pound in his chest. Harry paused just over Severus’s lips, warm air ghosting across waiting lips. “Yes?”

Severus nodded and breathed his answer. “Yes.”

Harry’s lips on his were everything he remembered and more. Soft, insistent, soul-meltingly wonderful as they moved expertly over Severus’s. Harry’s tongue sliding between parted lips and caressed every inch of Severus’s mouth as he tasted the wine and cheese flavor that lingered. Harry’s fingers slid through Severus’s hair and Severus reached up to grab Harry’s waist, pulling the man down on top of him. “Oh,” Harry said softly against Severus’s mouth. Severus immediately felt Harry’s growing erection press against his thigh and he pushed his hip up against the hardness. Severus grabbed at the hem of Harry’s tee and slid his hands up under the cotton. He sighed against Harry’s lips when his hand drifted across the smooth skin of Harry’s back. He dug his fingers into the curve of the younger man’s back and pulled him closer, silently begging for more. Harry pulled back and looked down into Severus’s eye. “Severus. Are you sure?”

Severus looked up into green eyes and arched his own erection against the man’s thigh that his slid between his legs at some point. “I have wanted this for months, Harry.” He slid his hands from Harry’s back and reached up to pull the glasses from the man’s face. He tossed them on the couch and they landed on top of the abandoned jumper. “Fuck me, Harry.”

“Gladly,” Harry growled as he swooped down to devour Severus’s mouth. The kiss was hard, desperate, soul-stealing, and Severus happily gave into it.

He slipped his hands back under the cotton tee and pulled on the fabric. Harry broke the kiss just long enough for Severus to pull the shirt over Harry’s head. His long fingers slid over Harry’s toned abs and pebbled nipple. Severus slid his hand down to grab at Harry’s slender hips, pulling the man so he could press his hardness into the hard body. Harry’s hand slid between them and began to work at the buttons on Severus’s shirt.

“Calm down, Sev. I’m in no hurry,” Harry whispered against his neck and Severus shivered at the warm air. Soft lips pressed against his collarbone as Harry’s fingers worked their way down Severus’s shirt. Harry used his nose to push the shirt aside as he kissed the exposed skin. Severus moaned softly as warm air ghosted over his pert nipple, he sucked in a hiss of air when Harry’s tongue laved at the hard nub, he moaned and arched when the sensitive skin was sucked into the hot mouth. He barely registered that Harry was pulling his shirt from his slacks. Harry pulled back and sat up, it took a dazed Severus several seconds to realize the man was straddling him as he reached for Severus’s wrist and brought it up to undo the buttons on the cuff. He brought the newly exposed skin up to his mouth and Severus watched as Harry’s tongue flicked out to trace a pattern on the sensitive wrist. He ended by placing a small kiss to the throbbing vein and gently laying the hand on Severus’s stomach before reaching for the other hand. Harry repeated his actions, his green eyes trained on Severus’s.

“I think we can take this shirt off now. Don’t you?”

Severus nodded and rose up to let Harry push the fabric from his shoulders. He slid his arms from the sleeves and shivered as Harry’s fingers slid down his arms. Harry sat straddling him for several minutes, his fingers dancing over Severus’s skin as he stared down at him. It was subtle at first, a soft caress, like fingers through hair.  Severus’s eyes fluttered closed and his breathing became even more erratic as the erotic sensation seemed to pulse through his body, touching every inch of him, inside and out. A loud groan had Severus’s eyes popping open to see Harry still over him, head thrown back, a look of ecstasy on his face. He gasped and dropped his head forward, black eyes met lust-filled green, a wild look shone from Harry. He gasped again.

“I- I can’t stop, Severus. Your magic calls to me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” His eyes fluttered as if he were fighting to keep them open. “Severus, ah.”

Severus felt it then. The soft caress had become an insistent slide of body on body somewhere deep inside him, like they were sweat soaked horny teenagers going at it like rabbits. Yet, neither had moved from their initial position. He remembered the first time Harry had “read” his magic, the way he had felt at the welcome invasion. It hit him then, what was happening. Their magic was, for lack of a better word, fucking. He surged up and grabbed Harry around the neck, pulling the man close and plunging his tongue deep into the man’s mouth. Harry gasped against him and took over the kiss, pushing Severus back down and reaching between them to free the buttons on Severus’s slacks. Severus lifted his hips as Harry slid his fingers under the band of his slacks and shorts and pushed them down. Harry followed the garments down as he kissed a line down Severus’s sternum and over his stomach. He dipped his tongue in Severus’s belly button and swirled it through the hair that led down, down, down. Severus arched as Harry’s tongue slid along Severus’s length, swirling the dripping head and wrapped his lips around the aching cock.

Severus grabbed at Harry’s hair and thrust his hips up, “Harry.”

Harry pulled off Severus’s cock and rose to his knees panting. Bright green eyes shined from his flushed face. “It’s amazing, Severus. It’s like I’m already inside you and it can only get better.”

Severus nodded. That was exactly how it felt. As if they were already having sex and everything Harry did to him only added to it. Harry pulled Severus’s pants from around his ankle and stood. Severus watched greedily as Harry unbuttoned his own jeans and slid them down his legs. Severus licked his lips and moaned as he took in Harry’s lean body and long, hard cock. Harry chuckled.

“I don’t need to be able to see to know what that sound means.” Harry dropped back to his knees and slid over Severus to press his lips to Severus’s. “I take it, I meet with your approval, Professor?”

Harry pressed his body down against Severus’s and he groaned, arching up against him, “God yes. Definitely exceeds expectations.”

“Is that all, Professor?” Harry whispered against Severus’s ear. His tongue darted out to lick at the shell before pulling the nub of skin between his teeth and sucking. Severus arched against him. “I suppose I will just have to work harder.” Severus moaned as he felt Harry shift and warm fingers slid between his legs. He automatically bent his knees to give the man better access. Harry’s warm breath slid across his skin as he chuckled. “Eager to _raise_ my grade, Professor?” A slick finger rubbed against his hole and Severus gasped.

“Yes. Yes.” Severus shifted, pushed down, angled his hips, needing Harry’s finger to slide into him.

“So eager, Severus. I love the way you respond to my touch.”

“I love your touch, Harry. Yesss,” he hissed as a finger finally slid slowly inside. He arched as the sensation reached his core, the feeling of Harry being inside him mixed with the sensation of their mingled magic almost sent him over the edge. He came back to the sensation of Harry’s fingers wrapped tight around the base of his cock and soft kisses on his face. He blinked up at a smiling Harry.

“You okay?” Severus nodded. “You almost came.”

Severus swallowed. “I wasn’t ready. But, the sensation…”

Harry nodded. “I felt it through my magic. We are going to have to take it slow. I’m not used to this intensity and I doubt you are either.” Severus shook his head. “Shall we continue?”

“Please.”

True to his word, Harry moved slowly, stretching Severus finger by finger, pressing kisses over his body and keeping his free hand close to Severus’s cock to stop any impending orgasm. By the time Harry had pushed a third finger in Severus and stretched him, Severus was begging the man to take him, clutching the wild black hair like a lifeline, arching up and fisting the blanket beneath him.

“Fuck. Fuck, Harry. Please.” He heard the whimper fall from his lips as Harry left his body. He barely heard the command to lift his hips or felt the pillow Harry slid under him.

“Open your eyes, Severus.” He blinked his eyes open to see dark green eyes smiling down at him. He felt Harry’s fingers tighten at the base of his cock as the head if his own cock pressed against Severus’s hole. He gasped in anticipation. “Last chance to back out,” Harry said softly. Severus shook his head. “Severus,” Severus looked up into soft eyes, “I-“ But whatever he was going to say was lost as Harry crashed his mouth to Severus’s and kissed him fiercely. Severus moaned as Harry pushed into him. He clutched at Harry’s hips, his back, his strong arms. There was a slight twinge as Harry pushed past the ring of muscles that hadn’t been breached in so long it was barely a memory. Harry moaned as he pushed in, burying himself deep inside Severus. “Oh Merlin. Oh, Severus. Ohgodohgodohgod.”

Severus could only echo the man’s sentiments and thrust a hand between them to clamp his fingers around his cock as Harry had moved his hand to stop his own impending orgasm. The world seemed to stop as the men paused to catch their breaths before continuing.

“God that’s incredible,” Harry said and Severus nodded his agreement.

“Quite, I’d say you’ve earned that Outstanding,” he said as he slipped his hand from his cock and slid his palm up Harry’s toned abs. “Can you move?”

Harry smiled impishly down at him. “Mmm. Oh yes. Would you like to see?”

Severus glared up at the man. “I would rather feel it.” He gasped and arched up as he felt a surge of Harry’s magic swirl through him. “Oh god, Harry. Yes.”

He felt Harry begin to slide inside him, slow and easy so as not to send them over the edge too soon. He grasped at Harry’s arms, felt the muscles work as the man moved over him. He arched up and begged for more. Harry obeyed, quickening his pace, thrusting hard and deep inside Severus. Severus was lost in the maelstrom of sensations, no longer able to tell the difference between Harry’s body moving inside him and Harry’s magic coursing through his own. He screamed as Harry thrust against his prostate, muttered approval as long fingers caressed his length, begged for more when increasingly familiar magic twined around his own. He felt himself being pushed near the edge. Closer and closer until he was begging to be pushed over the precipice into the black void of bliss that awaited below. Sensations washed over his body. Hands lifting his arse to bury the pounding cock deeper into him, fingers sliding over his leaking cock, hot mouth sucking at the heretofore unknown sensitive skin on his ankle. With a scream, Severus was pushed into the abyss, a blinding light catching him and filling him as he tumbled down and soared into the heavens, his soul shattering into a thousand pieces. He had the vague thought that Harry would have to piece him back together as the echo of three words followed him into oblivion.

“I love you.”

 

Severus woke warm and content, a soft body pressed against him, the steady rhythm of Harry’s breathing causing a slow rise and fall of the man on Severus’s chest. Severus blinked at the red aura surrounding the room and realized Harry’s ceiling-sky was displaying a sunset. His hand moved, brushing against the blanket Harry must have covered them with. He glanced down at the unfamiliar blue and green duvet and wondered if Harry had Summoned it from somewhere or had simply conjured it. He also noticed that he seemed to be clean, no residue left from their lovemaking. At that thought, Severus was reminded at Harry’s last words and felt his heart swell. To think that somehow, Harry had fallen in love with him sent a thrill through him. He looked down at the sleeping man, his long eyelashes resting against his tanned cheeks. Severus ran a hand along the muscled arm and his fingers brushed against something wrapped around Harry’s wrist. He pushed the covers down to reveal the hand resting atop Severus’s chest and lifted it up to study the bracelet adorning the thin wrist. It was a simple brown leather strap that had two medallions threaded through it. The medallion on top was black with a silver snake etched on it, the medallion that rested against the inside of his wrist was a simple flat black stone. Severus eyes the stone curiously, wondering if it was one of those mood revealers that had been so popular in his youth.

“It’s to help me focus.” Severus looked down at the softly spoken words and Harry blinked up at him and smiled. “Hi there.”

Severus dropped the hand guiltily. “Hi.”

Harry pushed up and pressed a quick kiss to Severus’s lips before sitting up. He let the blanket pool around his waist as he grabbed the glasses that came flying into his hands. He slid them on and looked at Severus. His brows furrowed for a split second before he looked down at the black stone for several seconds. Severus pushed himself up and tucked the blanket around his waist to hide his nakedness. Harry looked back up at him and smiled.

“Better.”

Severus eyed the bracelet. “You did that last time. At Albus’s, after reading my magic.”

Harry nodded. “My glasses act as a kind of barrier to my reading magic, that’s why I took them off to read you. But once I’ve seen the magic it’s harder to push it back.” He held up his wrist, showing the black stone. “The black quartz helps me to block out the magic aura. Minerva gave it to me back when I was learning to control my reading. Black quartz is supposed to be good for grounding.” He looked back up at Severus. “You know, I don’t usually have sex with my glasses off, Severus. I learned a long time ago that it interferes with my pleasure and distracts my partner. I can’t really stop my readings once I see the magic and- What happened?”

Severus sighed. He thought he had an idea and blushed at the thought. “I think we are compatible in more ways than one, Harry.”

Harry tilted his head to study Severus and his eyes widened, “Oh, did I hurt you?” He leaned forward and pressed a hand to Severus’s chest as if checking for a wound.

Severus looked down in confusion, expecting to see blood or sex markings from nails or teeth. “No, Harry. I’m fine. You stretched me quite sufficiently.”

Harry shook his head. “No. It’s not that. I didn’t realize it at the time. Sometimes I don’t realize what I’m doing.”

Severus sighed. “Potter, you are making no sense.”

Harry smiled coyly. “Sorry, Professor. I only meant when we were- when I was wrapped up in your magic I was playing with it.” His brow furrowed. “Severus, I was unwrapping the dark magic. Didn’t you feel it?”

Severus blinked, trying to remember the sensations that had threatened to overload him when Harry was inside him. He shook his head. “I felt only you.”

Harry gaped. “Severus, I think-“

“No.” Severus stood and grabbed his shorts. He turned from Harry to pull them on. “Don’t say it, Harry. Don’t give me any hope. I can’t think about that right now.”

“Okay,” it shouldn’t have surprised him that the voice came from just behind him. Arms slid around his waist and a soft kiss was pressed to his neck. “We won’t talk about it until and unless you are ready.” They stood there, each lost in thought for several minutes.

Severus looked down at Harry’s clasped hands and saw the snake twinkling up at him. “What is the snake for?”

“What?” Harry pulled back and Severus turned to face him, grabbing his wrist to study the bracelet. “Oh. Well, I can’t always just jump right into talking Parseltongue. Sometimes it helps to have something to concentrate on and I can’t always count on having a picture or carving of a snake to help. I found that in an Indian village in Oklahoma. It came in handy down in Texas. That place is teeming with snakes, and rattlesnakes aren’t exactly the ask questions first type.”

Severus laughed at the mental image of Harry arguing with an angry snake as it shook its tail menacingly. He shook his head and pulled the still naked man close for a kiss. “Harry. What you said earlier.”

He watched as pink suffused Harry’s cheeks and the man looked away. “You heard that?”

Severus placed a finger under Harry’s chin and turned his face back so Severus could look into the green eyes. “I did. And against all reason, I believe I may love you as well.”

Harry’s unsure look turned into a soft smile that grew into the beaming light that Severus had come to need in his life. “Do you?” Severus nodded. Harry’s palm slid up Severus’s naked chest and green eyes looked up seductively through long lashes. “And what do you suppose we can do to turn that ‘may’ into a surety?” The hand slid back down and snaked around Severus waist to clutch his arse and pull him against Harry’s growing erection.

Severus gasped at the sudden movement and smirked down at Harry. “Well, that’s a start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I kind of alluded to something throughout the story because as I was writing Severus's experience with Harry "playing" with his magic I had a great idea for an epilogue of sorts but it's going to be posted as a one shot and not actually in the story. So I should have that up in a few days. I just have to do a bit of tweaking and editing. Thanks for your patience.


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